As of March 2026, Figure 03 and Tesla Optimus Gen 2 are the two most commercially advanced humanoid robots in the world. Figure 03 — Figure AI's third-generation platform — leads on dexterity with 50 degrees of freedom and 22-DoF hands capable of detecting forces as small as 3 grams. Tesla Optimus Gen 2 leads on scale with approximately 8,000 units deployed across Tesla factories, powered by the same FSD neural network that drives millions of Tesla vehicles. Both represent fundamentally different approaches to humanoid robotics: Figure bets on manipulation precision, Tesla bets on manufacturing scale and data advantage.
| SPEC | FIGURE 03 | TESLA OPTIMUS GEN 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Full Name | Figure 03 | Optimus Gen 2 |
| Manufacturer | Figure AI | Tesla |
| Generation | 3rd generation | 2nd generation |
| Status | Production | Pilot deployment |
| Height | 1.70 m (5'7") | 1.73 m (5'8") |
| Weight | 57 kg (126 lb) | 57 kg (126 lb) |
| Degrees of Freedom | 50 DoF ▲ | 40 DoF |
| Hand DoF | 22 per hand ▲ | 11 per hand |
| Payload | 25 kg ▲ | 20 kg |
| Battery Life | ~6 hours | ~8 hours ▲ |
| Battery | 1.2 kWh Li-Po | 2.3 kWh |
| Charging | 2 kW wireless fast charge | Wired charging |
| Actuator Type | Frameless BLDC motors | Frameless (body) + Coreless (hand) |
| Hand System | Motor + Gear, 3g tactile sensing | Motor + Tendon drive, tactile |
| Transmission | Harmonic + Planetary Roller Screw | Harmonic + Planetary Roller Screw |
| Frame Materials | Stamped steel, die-cast Al, foam | Aluminum alloy, carbon fiber, PEEK |
| Compute | Dual NVIDIA GPUs | Tesla AI5 proprietary SoC |
| AI System | Helix (VLA model) | FSD neural network stack |
| AI Training Data | Robot teleoperation data | Millions of Tesla FSD vehicles ▲ |
| Units Deployed | ~1,000 | ~8,000 ▲ |
| Primary Customer | BMW Group | Tesla factories (internal) |
| External Sales | Yes (commercial partners) | Not yet (planned 2026-2027) |
| Target Price | ~$100K-$200K (est.) | $20K-$30K (at scale) ▲ |
| BOM Estimate | ~$50K | ~$40K |
| Total Funding | $2.25B | Part of Tesla ($800B+ mkt cap) |
| Key Investors | Microsoft, NVIDIA, Bezos, Intel | Tesla shareholders |
| Country | USA | USA |
| Founded | 2022 | 2021 (Optimus program) |
| DATE | FIGURE | TESLA |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 Q4 | — | Optimus Gen 2 unveiled |
| 2024 Q1 | Figure 02 unveiled at CES | — |
| 2024 Q2 | BMW partnership announced | Internal pilot at Giga Texas |
| 2024 Q3 | First units at BMW Spartanburg | — |
| 2025 Q1 | 50-unit fleet at BMW | — |
| 2025 Q2 | Figure 03 prototype revealed | — |
| 2025 Q3 | — | Giga Shanghai deployment begins |
| 2025 Q4 | Figure 03 public reveal + live demo | 1,000 units operational |
| 2026 Q1 | Production ramp; first units shipped | 8,000 cumulative units reported |
Figure 03 is the more technically advanced robot — 50 degrees of freedom, 22-DoF hands with gram-level tactile sensing, and a Helix VLA model that enables end-to-end autonomous task execution. It is the better robot for precision manipulation tasks in manufacturing, logistics, and eventually home environments. Tesla Optimus wins on scale and economics — 8,000 units already deployed, a target price of $20,000-$30,000 at volume (vs Figure's estimated $100K+), and the unmatched data flywheel of millions of Tesla vehicles training the same neural networks. If you need the most capable humanoid robot today, choose Figure 03. If you're betting on which platform will reach millions of units first, Tesla's manufacturing machine and cost structure make Optimus the frontrunner. The market is large enough for both to win — Figure in commercial/industrial precision applications, Tesla in high-volume consumer and factory automation.