Tesla Mechanical end effector Patent (US20250214259A1)
US20250214259A1 · Tesla, Inc.
- Patent number
- US20250214259A1
- Applicant
- Tesla, Inc.
- Filing date
- 2024-12-27
- CPC class
- B25J 15/02
- Pillar
- Muscle
An underactuated humanoid end effector with removable finger assemblies and a dual-motor thumb architecture whose motor shafts are arranged substantially in parallel for compact palm packaging.
Claims
Claims describe a frame, removable finger assemblies each with a motor assembly, and a thumb assembly with two motors whose shaft axes are substantially parallel, enabling underactuated grasping with serviceable modules.
Technical analysis
Tesla’s Optimus hand story hinges on underactuation + serviceability: fewer motors than DoF, modular fingers, and a thumb that packs two drives without ballooning palm volume. Parallel motor axes are a packaging trick that shows up repeatedly in humanoid hand design trade studies.
Commercial impact
Signals Tesla’s intent to own dexterous manipulation IP, not just bipedal walking. Competitors targeting factory Optimus-like tasks will need different hand topologies or licenses.
Related patents
- Underactuated hand with cable-driven fingers — Tesla, Inc.
- Autonomous mobile robot — Robotis Co Ltd
- Roller tool for part forming — Machina Labs Inc
- Robot arm — Industry University Cooperation Foundation of Korea University of Technology and Education
- Humanoid robot — GM Global Technology Operations LLC, National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA
- Gantry robotics system and related material transport for contour crafting — University of Southern California