Tesla employees resist training Optimus humanoid robots as replacement workers

Tesla is encountering resistance from its workforce as it shifts focus from electric vehicles to humanoid robots. The company’s transition has been complicated by technical challenges, particularly with the development of robot hands, and growing dissatisfaction among employees who are being retrained for roles involving Optimus, the company’s humanoid robot. Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, has positioned Optimus as potentially the "biggest product ever," but has also acknowledged the difficulty of creating an autonomous humanoid robot capable of performing a wide range of tasks. Recent reports indicate that Tesla’s Fremont factory in California has halted production of the Model S sedan and Model X SUV as of May 2026, redirecting both line workers and engineers to the Optimus project. Despite these efforts, scaling up production for mass manufacturing remains a significant hurdle for the company.