TLDR
- Tesla China president Wang Hao called GigaShanghai a “golden key” for scaling Optimus robot production
- It’s the first time a Tesla executive has publicly named Shanghai as a potential humanoid robot production site
- GigaShanghai produced 851,000 vehicles in 2025, accounting for 52% of Tesla’s global output
- Tesla is also converting its Fremont plant into a humanoid robot production site
- Musk has said Optimus must reach 1 million units by 2035 to unlock his pay package
Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory could soon be making more than electric cars. Tesla China president Wang Hao said on Tuesday the plant is capable of producing Optimus humanoid robots and could play a major role in scaling that effort.
🚨BREAKING: TESLA CHINA SIGNALS MOVE INTO ERA OF ROBOTICS DURING MEDIA SHOWCASE 🇨🇳 $TSLA
Tesla China general manager WANG HAO: "I think the Chinese electric vehicle market is the most competitive market globally for new energy and electric vehicles—without exception. I can tell… pic.twitter.com/F4Pvbg1Gh9
— Tsla Archive (@tesla_archive) April 14, 2026
Wang called GigaShanghai a “golden key” to solving the mass production challenge for Optimus — marking the first time a Tesla executive has publicly named the Shanghai site as a candidate for robot manufacturing.
He said the plant can “shoulder important responsibilities in manufacturing all new products, including robots,” and expressed confidence in “welcoming the arrival of a new era of robots.”
Wang did not say whether Tesla would use existing Shanghai facilities or build a new plant for the robotics operation.
GigaShanghai is Tesla’s largest and most productive factory. In 2025, it produced around 851,000 vehicles — 52% of Tesla’s global total. In Q1 alone, deliveries from the plant rose 23.5% year over year to 213,398 vehicles, making up 59.6% of Tesla’s global output for the period.
The factory already handles Model 3 and Model Y production for both domestic sales and exports. It also began manufacturing Megapack batteries last year, targeting 10,000 units annually.
Why Shanghai Makes Sense
The Shanghai plant brings several practical advantages to robot production: advanced automation, a trained workforce, and a dense network of nearby suppliers. These are exactly the ingredients needed to handle the complexity of building humanoid robots at scale.
Elon Musk has previously acknowledged that scaling Optimus won’t be easy. But GigaShanghai’s existing infrastructure gives Tesla a head start.
Optimus is designed to be an affordable, capable humanoid robot — priced between $20,000 and $30,000. It runs on a 2.3 kWh battery, walks on two legs, tops out at around 5 mph, and has hands flexible enough to handle delicate tasks.
Tesla is separately converting its Fremont factory — formerly home to the Model S and Model X, which are being discontinued — into a dedicated humanoid robot production site.
Musk’s latest approved pay package, potentially worth up to $1 trillion, is tied to delivering 1 million Optimus robots by 2035. That milestone is what’s driving the urgency around scale.
Musk’s Eye on China Competition
Musk has been direct about who Tesla’s biggest rival in robotics will be. During Tesla’s January earnings call, he said China is “by far the biggest competition” for humanoid robots, calling the country “incredibly good at scaling manufacturing.”
He also claimed Tesla’s Optimus is “much more capable than any robot we are aware of under development in China,” while acknowledging progress from companies like XPeng, which is targeting 1,000 IRON robot units per month and aims for one million annual sales by 2030.
State-owned Changan and Chery are also developing humanoid robots. Nio, by contrast, has said it won’t rush into robotics until it reaches sustained profitability.
Wall Street currently has a Hold consensus on TSLA, based on 13 Buys, 11 Holds, and 6 Sells over the past three months. The average price target sits at $402.29, implying about 10.5% upside.
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