Tesla has released a new update showcasing significant progress in its humanoid robot, Optimus, marking one of the most advanced demonstrations of agility from the project to date. A short clip posted on X (formerly Twitter) on December 3 by both the official Tesla Optimus account and Tesla CEO Elon Musk shows the robot running inside a controlled lab environment—an ability that is now going viral across social media platforms.
A milestone in movement and human-like gait
The latest video, captioned “Just a new PR in the lab,” highlights the robot hitting a new performance record. Standing at 5 feet 11 inches and weighing 160 pounds, Optimus features more than 40 degrees of freedom, with highly dexterous 11-DoF hands that allow for fine motor tasks and human-like interaction.
Optimus runs on a 2.3 kWh battery, designed to support nearly a full workday of operation. Its energy consumption ranges from just 100W at rest to 500W while walking, underscoring Tesla’s push towards energy-efficient robotics.
Initial demonstrations in previous years had focused on simple tasks such as controlled stepping, cautious walking, object handling and balance exercises. The new footage, however, shows more fluid coordination, improved stability and a gait that appears far more human-like than earlier prototypes.
Side-by-side progress: 2023 to 2025
Alongside the main clip, another eight-second split-screen video has gone viral, contrasting Optimus’ movement in May 2023 against its December 2025 performance.
On the left, early humanoid prototypes take tentative steps across a factory floor—slow, stiff and heavily supervised by engineers. On the right, the latest version strides forward with significantly improved balance, rhythm and whole-body coordination.
This leap in mobility demonstrates Tesla’s accelerated development cycle, driven by its internal AI systems and the company’s focus on scalable robotics.
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Toward Musk’s goal of 5,000 robots by end-2025
Elon Musk has repeatedly emphasised that Optimus is intended to be more than a research showcase. The company’s target is ambitious: Musk aims to deploy 5,000 Optimus robots by the end of 2025, particularly across Tesla’s own factories.
By mid-2025, Tesla demonstrated Optimus performing increasingly complex tasks such as:
- walking long distances without manual stabilisation,
- lifting small objects,
- executing scripted pick-and-place routines,
- and supporting basic assembly-line operations.
In September 2025, Tesla unveiled the “2.5 Gen Optimus”, which still appeared slow and tentative. However, by October, a newer version demonstrated controlled martial-arts-style movements alongside a professional trainer. These updates revealed rapid improvements in full-body control, shifting away from isolated limb movement towards integrated, whole-body coordination.
Production plans and affordability
Tesla has indicated that Optimus remains under active development but is nearing mass-production readiness. Once manufacturing reaches scale, Musk estimates the robot could cost between $20,000 and $30,000, making it significantly cheaper than many industrial robots currently on the market.
Musk has also spoken about a long-term manufacturing vision where robots could one day construct other robots—what he referred to as “self-replicating” automation. He argues that once the hardware and AI foundation is stable, humanoids could eventually take over highly repetitive or hazardous tasks in factories.
Humanoid robots and the future of the auto industry
Optimus’ development comes at a crucial moment for the global automotive sector. With electric vehicles sharing core technologies with humanoid robots—batteries, AI chips, sensors and autonomous navigation systems—the convergence between mobility and robotics is accelerating.
Modern auto factories already depend on industrial robots for welding, painting and assembly. Humanoid robots represent the next leap: machines designed to operate tools, navigate human-built spaces and perform tasks that traditional robots cannot.
For automakers around the world, including those in India, labour shortages, rising operational costs and global competition are pushing companies to consider robotics not only as a cost-saving measure but as a strategic investment in future manufacturing.
A bold vision shaping global expectations
While Tesla’s ambitions are bold and often controversial, industry observers agree that humanoid robotics is becoming an emerging frontier. Whether Optimus becomes the benchmark remains to be seen, but the pace of Tesla’s progress suggests humanoids may soon play an active role on production floors.
For now, Optimus’ running demonstration marks another milestone in Musk’s aspiration to merge robotics with large-scale EV manufacturing—and potentially redefine the next era of industrial automation.