Part 7/12:
He explains that Tesla likely plans for long-term orders, possibly spanning years, and that initial production will be cautious and incremental. The early versions of Optimus (currently at version 2.x) require extensive iterative development, and mass production of refined units might be delayed until the team achieves a robust, tested product.
The Road Ahead
White assigns a low probability (less than 50%) of seeing version 3 of Optimus in Q4 2023 but considers the odds higher for early 2024. The development cycle involves continuous iteration, strict NDAs, and cautious rollout strategies. He posits that Tesla may prefer to lease or rent out robots initially rather than sell them outright—akin to a service model—to maintain quality control and version upgrades.