"I don't want to downplay the difficulty, but it's an incredibly difficult thing, especially to create a hand that is as dexterous and capable as the human hand, which is incredible. The human hand is an incredible thing. The more you study the human hand, the more incredible you realize it is, and why you need four fingers and a thumb, why the fingers have certain degrees of freedom, why the various muscles are of different strengths, and fingers are of different lengths."
"the project. During the Q3 2025 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the company is moving closer to a major breakthrough with the Optimus project, and said they are "on the cusp of something really tremendous." However, it seems there is one specific portion of the robot that has truly stumped engineers at the company: the hand, fingers, and forearm."
Tesla is approaching a major breakthrough with the Optimus humanoid robot and is on the cusp of significant progress. Engineers face a persistent challenge designing a hand, fingers, and forearm that match human dexterity. The human hand's complexity—four fingers and a thumb, varying degrees of freedom, differing muscle strengths, and finger lengths—creates nuanced mechanical and control requirements. Optimus prototypes demonstrate mobility, task learning, and service abilities, including walking downhill, practicing Kung Fu movements, and serving food and drinks. A Gen 2.5 reveal used non-functional mannequin hands, suggesting hand design remains unfinished and strategically concealed.
Read at TESLARATI
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