Tesla reportedly expected to open Optimus reservations in early December

The San Francisco Standard reported on October 30, 2026, that Tesla is expected to open consumer reservations for its humanoid robot, Optimus, in early December. According to the article, robotics investor Modar Alaoui said he had heard from Tesla that reservations would open around the time of The Humanoids Summit (December 1-2) or a few days later.

If reservations open, consumers will be able to begin indicating their interest in buying Optimus. However, The San Francisco Standard presented the opening as an expectation; the report does not indicate an official announcement from Tesla or confirm shipments.

The article focuses not on Optimus’ specifications or operating track record, but on the possibility that consumers will be able to begin joining a reservation queue. The expected start of reservations points to a potential first step toward sales, but opening reservations, setting a price, shipping the robot and using it in homes are separate stages. The article also cites an expected price of “more than $20,000,” but does not give a reservation deposit or a final price. The reservation news therefore cannot be treated as evidence that mass production or availability to the general public has been achieved. The expected timing in the article is based on Alaoui’s account and was not reported as an official announcement by Tesla. Alaoui said reservations would open around the time of The Humanoids Summit or a few days later. This ties the expected timing to the event, but does not mean an announcement or the start of reservations at the event is confirmed. The article does not specify who can reserve, the purchase terms or the delivery timeline after reservations open. A related story by Physical AI News, “jidounten-lab.com analyzes ratings of Tesla and Waymo robotaxi apps”, shows why app ratings need to be considered separately from operating scale and usage. For Optimus, too, the number of reservations or people in a queue is a separate measure from what tasks the robot can perform and under what conditions. If reservations open, it will be important to confirm not only that they are available, but also how clearly sales terms and shipping dates are specified. The article also reports that Tesla converted part of its Fremont factory to Optimus production, but gives no production volume, utilization rate or specific dates for consumer shipments. Even though the expected start of reservations and factory preparations are mentioned together, the article does not provide enough information to assess how their progress is connected. The next points to watch are whether Tesla makes an official announcement, the reservation terms, the final price, the actual start of shipments and the robot’s operating track record after delivery.