Musk says no to December Optimus orders
Elon Musk shot down a report that Tesla will open Optimus reservations in early December, leaving the humanoid's sales debut without a date.
Elon Musk answered "No" on Friday when asked whether Tesla will open ordering for its Optimus humanoid robot in December, cutting short a same-day report that reservations were about to begin. Rachyl Jones of The San Francisco Standard wrote on X that Tesla would open reservations in early December, citing an unnamed source, with the timing pointing to the Humanoids Summit in San Mateo on December 1-2. Robert Scoble quoted the post and asked, "Optimus ordering coming in December?" Musk's one-word reply landed at 3:08 PM PT.
The reply is the only public response from Musk or Tesla to the December claim so far. Neither has posted an order page, a price, or a firm consumer sales date. The exchange carried a wrinkle worth noting: Scoble's post also joked about asking an AI bot to watch for the opening and order one for him, so the "No" is best read as an answer to that post rather than a longer statement from Tesla about when orders will open.
Production, unlike the sales calendar, has a clearer picture. Tesla said in its Q3 update that production-quality Optimus robots have started coming off high-volume lines in Fremont, California, and that the current manufacturing process is suitable for a commercial product even as the hardware keeps iterating. CFO Vaibhav Taneja said on the same earnings call that Tesla is already building a larger Optimus factory in Austin. Musk has said deliveries to customers outside Tesla should come toward the end of 2027, with industrial buyers first.
The denial lands in a market where reservation rumors carry real weight. Musk has said Optimus and Cybercab will make up the vast majority of Tesla's value, which is why every hint about when the public can buy one draws outsized attention. For now, the only date on the record is the end of 2027 for outside deliveries — and no order page exists for anyone to watch.