Tesla Could Soon Start Taking Orders For Its Humanoid Robot

A single analyst report, a one-word denial, and a vague 2027 target leave Tesla Optimus reservations in a gray area.

Photo by: Tesla

By: Brian Potter

Nov 3, at 4:03am ET

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Tesla has not opened reservations for its Optimus humanoid robot, despite a growing pile of media reports. The confusion traces to a single report claiming a waitlist could go live around the December 1-2 Humanoids Summit, an event where Tesla is expected to show off its hardware.

That report came from Modar Alaoui, a Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist who runs the Humanoids Summit and invests in humanoid robotics. He described a possible early-December reservation window for everyday buyers. Elon Musk responded to a post asking whether consumers could order Optimus that same month with one word: "No."

The denial landed on X on November 1, directly contradicting the reservation timeline that had circulated for two days. Tesla itself has issued no public statement confirming or denying a waitlist, a reservation fee, or any consumer price.

Reservations And Price Remain Unconfirmed

Tesla Optimus V3

Photo by: Tesla

Nothing about an Optimus waitlist has been verified by Tesla as of this writing. The entire premise rests on Alaoui's reporting, which named the Humanoids Summit dates as the likely trigger point without citing an official Tesla source for that timing.

Musk's one-word reply doesn't necessarily kill the idea of reservations altogether. It specifically answers whether consumers could place an order in December. That leaves open whether some other form of signup, a waitlist without a binding order, could still appear around the summit.

Alaoui's report also claimed most Optimus units would go to businesses first, with a smaller slice reserved for individual buyers. Tesla hasn't confirmed that split, and no document reviewed for this story shows an official allocation plan between commercial and consumer customers.

The $20,000 figure attached to Optimus in multiple reports is similarly unconfirmed as a retail price. It's an estimate that has circulated since before this latest reservation dispute, and Tesla hasn't published pricing for any version of the robot.

Optimus V3 And Delivery Timing

What Musk has confirmed is a broad late 2027 window for getting Optimus into customer hands. He has described it as the point when early deliveries to companies outside Tesla should begin and when sales to the public could start, with both targets tied to fixing specific technical problems first.

Those problems involve the robot's artificial intelligence, its runtime, and its electromechanical design, according to Musk's own comments.

What do you think?

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The V3 generation is expected to be the first version Tesla actually ships, based on Alaoui's reporting, though Tesla hasn't confirmed.

Anyone watching Tesla's other reservation campaigns, like the wave of early sign-ups for the Roadster reservations, knows the company's public statements and its actual rollout dates don't always match.