Tesla Workers Balk at Training Optimus Robots as Replacements

Ars Technica reported on September 25, 2026, that Tesla workers were balking at training Optimus humanoid robots as replacements. [1] The report identifies the disputed task as worker participation in training Tesla’s Optimus robots. [1] It describes Optimus as a humanoid robot. [1] Its headline ties the workers’ resistance specifically to the prospect that the robots could replace them. [1]

The report puts the human feedback loop at the center of Optimus deployment: the people helping train the system are also described as fearing replacement. That makes participation itself the immediate fault line, not merely the eventual performance of the humanoid robot. For practitioners, the narrow lesson is that robot training can become a workforce issue when contributors believe the resulting system targets their jobs. What the sources don't address: how many workers objected, what training they were asked to perform, or whether Tesla changed the program.