Sam Altman says OpenAI will build humanoid robots, a challenge to Tesla's Optimus

Sep 3, 2026 · Issue 5 · 6 sources, 6 articles

Sam Altman has confirmed that OpenAI will build humanoid robots, moving beyond software. According to reports, Tesla began producing Optimus at its Fremont factory around August.

Who is affected and how

plant manager

As more humanoid players emerge, purchasing options and prices will shift, so pilot planning should not be put off.

engineer

Competition among humanoid platforms is accelerating changes in software and hardware architectures, so integration standards need watching.

Narrative: Humanoids arrive in factories

Sources

• OpenAI Is Making A Humanoid Robot. Sam Altman Says Everyone Should Have Oneforbes.com · Sep 3, 2026
• Sam Altman First Confirms OpenAI's Independent Humanoid Robot R&D Planeu.36kr.com · Sep 3, 2026
• OpenAI Just Declared War on Tesla's Optimus: Why Sam Altman's Humanoid Bet Changes Everything | FrontierNews.aifrontiernews.ai · Sep 3, 2026
• Tesla Humanoid Robot: How Optimus Worksblog.eif.am · Sep 4, 2026
• Altman says OpenAI will build humanoids, opening a path beyond softwarethe rundown ai · Sep 6, 2026
• Altman says OpenAI will build humanoids, opening a path beyond software | The Rundown AItherundown.ai · Sep 6, 2026

Machine-generated summary based on the titles and excerpts of the source articles. The facts come from the linked article.