Popcorn-Serving Robots, Brain Chips & Billions in AI: Inside Elon Musk’s July 2025 Robotics Revolution
In June, Milan Kovac, the senior VP heading Tesla’s Optimus program, left the company, leaving the project reportedly “in disarray”. Tesla paused parts orders for about two months to implement a major redesign after finding the current Optimus prototype isn’t very useful in factory tasks. Elon Musk had initially targeted 5,000–10,000 Optimus robots in 2025, but that goal is now delayed. Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Autopilot chief, was appointed to take over the Optimus robot program. Key hardware issues include overheating actuators in joint motors, weak payload in the robot’s dexterous hands, premature wear in transmission components, and limited battery life.