Tesla Builds Last Model S And Model X At Fremont, Pivots Line To Optimus Robots

The last Model S and last Model X ever produced at Tesla‘s Fremont factory rolled off the line on Saturday, May 9, 2026. Tesla announced the milestone on X just after 9 PM Pacific, posting photos of the final cars surrounded by the workers who built them. The flagship sedan ran for 14 years. The SUV with the wing doors lasted 11. Both built Tesla’s reputation before the Model 3 and Model Y took over the volume.

The Fremont assembly space that produced both cars is being converted to manufacture the Optimus humanoid robot. CEO Elon Musk announced the wind-down on Tesla’s Q4 2025 earnings call in late January, telling investors the company would retire the two flagships with what he called an “honorable discharge” and convert the line to robot production with a target of one million Optimus units per year.

The Model S has not had a meaningful overhaul since the 2021 refresh that brought the yoke and the redesigned cabin. Five years on, the Plaid still sets the price-to-quarter-mile benchmark, but the interior technology now lags the current Model 3 Highland on screen software and basic refinement. Tesla never seriously reinvented the S. The choice now reads as a runway to this moment.

The Fremont Line Goes Dark After 14 Years

Tesla shared photos of the final two cars in a post on X, with the Plaid Model X covered in handwritten signatures from the workers who built it across more than a decade. The Model S began production at Fremont in 2012. The Model X joined in 2015 with its Falcon Wing rear doors. Both cars shared roughly 30% of their components and rolled off the same assembly area.

Production wound down in stages. Tesla closed custom orders at the end of March 2026 and ended regular production in early April. The remaining 350 cars built after that are part of an invitation-only Signature Edition run, with 250 Model S Plaid sedans and 100 Model X Plaid SUVs reserved for long-time Tesla customers. The Signature Edition delivery ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at the Fremont factory. We covered the invitation list and the program details in our April analysis of the Signature Edition delivery event.

Volume Collapsed Long Before The Line Stopped

Combined annual deliveries of the Model S and Model X fell to fewer than 19,000 units in 2025, far below the Fremont line’s roughly 100,000-unit capacity. The two cars accounted for about 1% of Tesla’s total deliveries last year. The Model 3 and Model Y carry the volume now, with the Cybertruck filling out the rest of the lineup.

The original Model S launched in 2012 at around $60,000 with a 265-mile EPA range. The 2026 Model S Plaid hits 410 miles of EPA range with a sub-2.0-second 0-60 time. The Model X reached 352 miles in Plaid form with a 2.5-second 0-60. Both cars stayed competitive on numbers but fell behind in two places: cabin tech versus the current Model 3, and price versus a Lucid Air or Mercedes EQS.

Optimus Takes Over A Line Built For Cars

Tesla plans to convert the Fremont assembly area that built every Model S and Model X into a production line for Optimus, with Musk targeting one million units per year. The robot has not shipped at scale. A program manager who oversaw the first production unit reportedly left the day after it rolled off the line. At a December event, an Optimus tasked with handing drinks to guests fell backwards. China’s heavy rare earth magnet export restrictions, in place since April 2025, complicate the supply chain for the compact electric motors at every robot joint.

Defenders of the move have a fair point. Running a 100,000-unit line at 19% utilization wasn’t sustainable, and an Optimus that works at scale would dwarf the entire car business. The catch is “works at scale.” Tesla hasn’t earned that benefit of the doubt yet.

This is the bet Tesla is asking shareholders and the EV market to accept. The cars are gone. The replacement is a robot that has not proven it can operate reliably outside a controlled demo. We covered the structural problem in March: the Megapack energy business is the part of Tesla quietly carrying the company while the Cybercab and Optimus chase headlines.

EVXL’s Take

The Model S did more for the EV cause than any other car. In 2012, most people taking electric cars seriously were already in the choir. The Model S converted skeptics. The Falcon Wing doors on the Model X were a stunt at the time, but the SUV proved an electric three-row could match a gas crossover for utility on a long trip. Both cars earned their place in EV history.

I cannot accept the replacement plan. Tesla retired its halo cars to free factory space for a product with no commercial track record, while BYD widens a 620,000-unit lead in global EV sales and the Model 3 and Model Y carry the entire automotive business. There is no successor flagship. There is no $25,000 Tesla. The Cybertruck is fading. The next-gen Roadster has been promised since 2017 and remains a render.

Here’s the prediction. By the end of 2027, Tesla will quietly announce a refresh or direct replacement for the Model S, framed as a “robotaxi-ready” sedan or a production version of the next-gen Roadster. The company cannot survive long-term without a halo car signaling where the engineering is going. Killing the S and X without a successor leaves a void that won’t stay empty.

Sources: Tesla on X, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X.

EVXL uses automated tools to support research and source retrieval. All reporting and editorial perspectives are by Haye Kesteloo.