Finding
Tesla designs Optimus and its AI chip, but the actuator layer is almost entirely Chinese suppliers around Ningbo and Hangzhou
The ring holds 20 supplier rows across seven layers: four in-house, zero sole source, 11 China-supplied and two with the supplier not disclosed.
The opposite of the Semi. Design, software, compute and assembly (Fremont, then Giga Texas) are Tesla's, but the actuator layer (joint modules, reducers, roller screws, hand drives, torque sensors) is almost entirely Chinese Tier 1s in the Ningbo, Hangzhou and Shanghai belt that Tesla audited in September 2026 (Sanhua, Tuopu, Joyson). Their Mexico (Monterrey) and Thailand plants are tariff hedges, not reshoring. Musk has said the magnets need a Chinese export license. The only non-China actuator sources found are Harmonic Drive Systems (Japan) and Rollvis (Switzerland). AI5, fabbed at Samsung Taylor and TSMC Arizona, links to the SemiconductorX ring.
The ring
Who supplies each layer
In-house rows first in each layer, then sole, primary, second and multi-source suppliers. The left border shows the supplier country: red China, gold Japan, Korea or Taiwan, blue the US and Europe, gray not disclosed. Confidence: confirmed (company or filing), reported (credible press), inferred (deduced, not disclosed).
| Supplier | Component | Country | Plant or location | Relationship | Confidence | Evidence and links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack and BMS | ||||||
| Tesla | Torso battery pack and BMS Gen 2 pack was 2.3 kWh, Tesla-designed; V3 capacity and cell source not disclosed | US | US | in-house | inferred | press report Humanoid Robots |
| Motor and drive | ||||||
| Suzhou Green Harmonic | Harmonic reducers Reported supplier to Tesla's Mexico actuator chain | China | Suzhou, China | primary | reported | press report Humanoid Actuator Supply Chain |
| Harmonic Drive Systems | Harmonic (strain-wave) reducers Reported dual-sourced with Green Harmonic | Japan | Japan | second source | reported | press report Humanoid Actuator Supply Chain |
| Sanhua Intelligent Controls | Linear and rotary actuator assemblies (joint modules) Audited by Tesla Sept 2026; the rumored $685M order (Oct 2025) was denied by Sanhua | China | Shaoxing, China; Monterrey, Mexico | reported | reported | press report Humanoid Actuator Supply Chain |
| Tuopu Group | Rotary actuators, joint modules, hand motors Audited by Tesla Sept 2026; long-time Tesla car supplier | China | Ningbo, China; Monterrey, Mexico | reported | reported | press report Humanoid Actuator Supply Chain |
| Joyson Electronics | Joint modules and precision parts Named in Tesla supplier audits (The Paper via CnEVPost) | China | Ningbo, China | reported | reported | press report Humanoid Actuator Supply Chain |
| Shuanghuan Transmission | RV reducers (via actuator assemblers) Reaches Optimus indirectly through Tuopu and Sanhua | China | Hangzhou, China | reported | reported | press report Humanoid Actuator Supply Chain |
| GSA / Rollvis Parent: Rollvis | Planetary roller screws (linear actuators) Reported initial roller-screw source | Switzerland | Switzerland | reported | reported | press report Humanoid Actuator Supply Chain |
| Wuzhou Xinchun | Inverted planetary roller screws (hip and knee) Challenger supplier; Thailand plant is the tariff hedge | China | Xinchang, China; Thailand | reported | reported | press report Humanoid Actuator Supply Chain |
| Zhaowei Machinery and Electronics | Dexterous-hand micro drive modules (motor, gearbox, lead screw) Hand has 22 DoF, tendon-driven from forearm actuators | China | Shenzhen, China | reported | reported | press report Humanoid Actuator Supply Chain |
| Inovance Technology | Servo motors for large joints Named in Chinese supply-chain coverage | China | Suzhou, China | reported | reported | press report Traction Motors and Magnets |
| Xinjian Transmission | Planetary roller screws Candidate, not confirmed | China | Hangzhou, China | reported | inferred | press report Humanoid Actuator Supply Chain |
| Magnets and rare earths | ||||||
| not disclosed | NdFeB magnets for actuator motors Musk confirmed Optimus needed a Chinese export license for magnets (Apr 2025); supplier unnamed | China | China | reported | confirmed | press report Magnet Manufacturing for Motors |
| Compute and AI chips | ||||||
| Samsung Foundry Parent: Samsung | AI5 inference SoC (planned for Optimus) Tesla design; trial production at Samsung Taylor Sept 2026, volume 2027; early V3 units likely on AI4 | South Korea | Taylor, Texas, US | primary | reported | press report Vehicle ADAS Hardware SX ring: Tesla AI5 |
| TSMC | AI5 inference SoC (planned for Optimus) Tesla design; second AI5 foundry; volume 2027 | Taiwan | Arizona, US | primary | reported | press report Vehicle ADAS Hardware SX ring: Tesla AI5 |
| Sensors | ||||||
| Keli Sensing | Six-axis force/torque sensors Reported entrant; in verification | China | Ningbo, China | reported | reported | press report Humanoid Actuator Supply Chain |
| not disclosed | Cameras (vision-only head and torso) Inferred: same supply as Tesla cars - Samsung or Sony image sensors, LG Innotek modules | reported | inferred | press report Vehicle Camera Modules | ||
| Software and autonomy | ||||||
| Tesla | Neural-network control and training stack Shares FSD training infrastructure | US | US | in-house | confirmed | company release Humanoid Robots |
| Final assembly | ||||||
| Tesla | Optimus line (former Model S/X floor), about 1M a year design S/X ended May 2026; early high-volume production by Oct 2026 | US | Fremont, California, US | in-house | confirmed | press report Humanoid Robots |
| Tesla | Dedicated Optimus factory, 10M a year long-term Under construction; output targeted summer 2027 | US | Austin, Texas, US (Giga Texas) | in-house | reported | press report Humanoid Robots |
Sources
Sources and scope
- Scope
- Tesla Optimus V3 supplier ring
- Sources
- ElectronsX flagship machine ring dataset: teardowns, company releases and filings, supplier disclosures and trade press; one source per row
- Updated
- 2026-10