Tesla's humanoid robot learns from employees acting in motion-capture suits
Inside Tesla's Palo Alto lab, Optimus—their humanoid robot—gets trained in a physically demanding and repetitive way.
Since June 2025, workers have swapped motion-capture suits for helmets with cameras and heavy backpacks, all while doing normal chores like wiping tables and lifting cups.
How Optimus is trained
Tesla records hours of video as employees repeat simple tasks over and over during long shifts.
If someone's movements don't look "human" enough, they get feedback and keep practicing—sometimes for weeks.
To keep things interesting (and challenging), AI throws in odd commands like animal moves or baby puzzles.
Elon Musk believes Optimus could be Tesla's biggest product yet
Elon Musk says Optimus could be Tesla's biggest product yet, aiming for a million robots a year—potentially 80% of the company's value.
All this human video is what makes the robots useful for real jobs at work or home, showing how people are still crucial to building tomorrow's tech.