Tesla reportedly expanded its Optimus training-data collection after some workers objected to a January 2026 motion-capture request at plants in Texas and California. An account published September 30, 2026, said the reported response included dedicated data collectors, additional factory cameras and moving some collection away from active production lines.
How the reported data collection changed
In January 2026, Tesla reportedly asked some employees at plants in Texas and California to use motion-capture equipment while carrying out production tasks. Some workers objected because they feared Optimus could eventually replace work like theirs.
After those objections, Tesla reportedly hired dedicated data collectors, added cameras in its factories and shifted some data collection away from active production lines. During summer 2026, the company also reportedly began establishing Optimus training centers in Colorado, Arizona and Florida.
Why movement examples can help train a robot
Imitation learning uses examples of how a task is physically performed to help train a robot. In the reported effort, motion capture was intended to record workers carrying out production tasks and provide movement examples for Optimus training.
Optimus’s reported operating and manufacturing constraints
Optimus’s hands and forearms reportedly contain more than 100 small components and still require manual assembly. The account also described reliability problems with tactile sensors and post-production corrections on some units. It said Optimus needed task-specific programming in controlled environments.
