Tesla tore down the Model S line in 46 days to make room for Optimus
From the Robots digest for Nov 1, 2026
Sources Shattered.io
What happened: Tesla took 46 days to rip out the Model S production line at its Fremont factory to clear space for Optimus robots, Shattered.io reports, with the rebuilt production space framed around a goal of a million robots a year.
What's genuinely new: The 46-day figure — the first published timeline for how fast Tesla converted the plant. The retirement of the Model S/X lines and the start of Optimus mass production at Fremont were already confirmed in the company's Q3 earnings coverage; the million-a-year goal remains a stated capacity plan rather than measured output.
Watch: Actual output off the rebuilt line against the 20,000-robots-a-week pace Tesla has targeted for late 2027 — and the gap to a million a year, which needs roughly triple that. Whether a first external Optimus customer emerges.