Tesla may use Shanghai plant to make humanoid robots

Tesla’s China president, Allan Wang Hao, said the company could use its Shanghai Gigafactory, Tesla’s biggest production site, to make humanoid robots in the future.

The plant’s manufacturing efficiency could support mass production.

It was the first public comment by a Tesla executive linking the Shanghai factory to robot production, which has become a strategic focus for CEO Elon Musk.

Musk has said Tesla’s work in AI and autonomous driving supports its valuation.

The company said in January that it was shifting toward physical AI after weak earnings and deliveries last year.

🔗 Source: South China Morning Post

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

China is building a competitive robotics industry beyond Tesla production

Tesla has weighed Shanghai for production, while China is pushing a state plan for mass production of humanoid robots by 2025 and global leadership by 2027 1.
The home market is growing fast. Data from 2025 says more than 140 Chinese manufacturers released over 330 humanoid robot models 2.
Shanghai also issued the country’s first governance guidelines for the field. The rules say humanoid robots must safeguard human dignity and must not threaten human security 3.

A Shanghai Optimus line could widen the split in embodied AI hardware

Building Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, in Shanghai could help hit production targets. It could also place core embodied AI technology, meaning AI built into physical machines that interact with the real world, inside a major geopolitical competitor 4.
That route would likely require compliance with China’s national standards system for humanoid robotics and embodied AI. The system covers the full industry and product lifecycle, from components and computing systems to safety and ethics 2.
This could push separate regional versions of advanced robots. Hardware stacks and AI stacks could diverge in ways that echo the existing split in internet platforms and software.