Tesla starts Optimus production as profits decline
Left 67%
Center 33%
Right 0%
2 left · 1 center · 0 right
What happened
Tesla said Wednesday it has begun producing Optimus humanoid robots at its Fremont, California factory, in space previously used for electric vehicles, calling the units the first production-quality Optimus bots it has built. CEO Elon Musk described the effort as early production with a slow, uneven ramp and said Tesla still needs design and AI work before the robots are safe, durable, and useful for open-ended tasks; he claimed the company could make 20,000 per week by the end of 2027. In the same third-quarter report, Tesla posted about $28.04 billion in revenue, roughly flat year over year, and net income of $787 million, a 43% decline from the year-earlier period. It delivered 486,532 vehicles, up slightly from the prior quarter but down from the same period a year earlier. Executives also said a fully unsupervised Full Self-Driving update for customer cars in a robotaxi fleet is now expected around the second quarter of next year, later than Musk had indicated in April.
Sourcing check · Mostly on the record · 3 articles
2 of 3 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 2 of 3
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Tesla, Vaibhav Taneja and Elon Musk
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 1 of 3
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: earnings report
- Credits another outlet 0 of 3
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 0 of 3
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Oct 21, 20:33 UTC by TechCrunch, naming its source. First document 3 hours later, from CNBC (earnings report).
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK.
Only left-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days;
Fox Business reported it on 2026-10-22.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage never reports Tesla starting Optimus production, and right-leaning outlets had not covered this as of publication. What Business Insider does report is a profit squeeze next to an earnings beat, with operating income down 56 percent on AI costs, lost credits, and weaker energy storage. That account also flags a cash-flow beat, SpaceX merger committees, and a Roadster demo. A reader of silent right-leaning media, or of that left coverage, misses that production-quality humanoid robots have begun coming off a Fremont line.
Left-leaning coverage splits the tone of the same print. One lead calls profits "under pressure." The other calls the quarter better than expected even as auto revenue declines.
How many Optimus robots has Tesla actually built, and has it sold any?
Bottom line
Business Insider can narrate Tesla's 56 percent operating-income drop and never mention that Optimus robots have started coming off a Fremont line, a blank the silent right-leaning press leaves in place as well.
The receipts — 5 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Tesla has started production of Optimus humanoid robots at its factory in Fremont, California
- Tesla said the bots coming off the line are the first production-quality units and that the manufacturing process is suitable for a commercial product
- Elon Musk said Tesla will be able to make 20,000 Optimus robots per week by the end of 2027
- Tesla's third-quarter net income was $787 million, a 43% drop from $1.37 billion a year earlier
- Tesla's third-quarter operating income fell 56% year over year to $718 million
The Left View
Left-leaning outlets that covered the story emphasized profit pressure even as Tesla beat some earnings estimates. Business Insider reported operating income fell 56% year over year to $718 million, below Wall Street’s $746.3 million estimate, with revenue of $28.05 billion a shade under forecasts, and attributed the squeeze to higher AI and R&D spending, lower regulatory-credit revenue, weaker energy-storage profit, and lower vehicle prices. It also noted Tesla beat on adjusted EPS (48 cents versus a 44-cent consensus) and posted $1.5 billion in free cash flow versus an expected cash burn, plus a four-year-high vehicle backlog and $30 billion in unused borrowing capacity. CNBC framed the quarter as better-than-expected results even as auto revenue declined. TechCrunch, a center source, led with Optimus production starting in Fremont and a 43% drop in net income, detailing flat EV revenue of $20 billion, a 16% drop in energy-storage revenue to $2.8 billion, 33% growth in services to $4.6 billion, and delayed unsupervised FSD timing.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive: it is grounded in Tesla’s third-quarter shareholder letter, reported financials, and on-the-record comments from named executives (Musk, CFO Vaibhav Taneja, and Ashok Elluswamy). Established facts include the company’s announcement that Optimus production has started in Fremont, the published revenue, profit, delivery, and segment figures, and the company’s own statements that this is early production and that unsupervised FSD for customer robotaxi use has slipped relative to prior guidance. Forward-looking items—20,000 robots a week by end of 2027, when unsupervised FSD will actually ship, and any Tesla–SpaceX combination—are company claims, not independently verified outcomes. No right-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch Tesla’s next 10-Q and earnings call, any independent confirmation of Optimus units built or sold, and any SEC filings if a Tesla–SpaceX review moves beyond exploratory committees.
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