Buying guide
Digit vs Tesla Optimus in 2026
Comparing 2 humanoid robots across availability, pricing, capabilities, and verified deployments. Current as of 2026.
Key differences
- Digit has more capabilities independently verified as autonomous (1 vs 0).
- Tesla Optimus has the lower recorded price.
- Digit has more verified real-world deployments (8 vs 2).
- Digit is at the commercial stage; Tesla Optimus at the pilot stage.
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Agility Robotics | Tesla |
| Form factor | humanoid | humanoid |
| Maturity | commercial | pilot |
| Autonomy | ✓ 1 verified autonomous | ◐ not independently verified |
| Availability | internal-onlyenterprise | announced-no-dateannounced |
| Price | $100,000-$250,000 (analyst estimate) | $20,000-$30,000 (manufacturer target) |
| Capability claims |
|
|
| Brain |
|
|
| Verified deployments | 8 | 2Tesla, Tesla |
| Privacy practices | — | — |
| Sources on file | 41 | 25 |
Editorial summaries
Digit
Digit is the cohort's commercial verification anchor: the most-verified-hours humanoid in the registry, with Agility's GXO Flowery Branch deployment doing the load-bearing work. The maker-facility rule applies in reverse here. GXO operates Digit on customer-paid freight inside GXO's own warehouses, which is the commercial-deployment shape that internal-facility pilots from Tesla, 1X, and others do not yet have. Agility describes Digit's operational envelope as autonomous mobile manipulation in structured logistics; the verification anchor is what operators document at the customer site, not Agility's spec sheet.
Tesla Optimus
Tesla Optimus is the canonical example of the verified-vs-claimed gap in commercial humanoid robotics. Tesla has shown Optimus in choreographed demos, internal-facility deployment, and consumer-marketing contexts, but no verified third-party customer deployments and no shipped consumer units exist as of 2026. The price ($20,000 to $30,000) is a manufacturer target contingent on high-volume production that has not yet begun. Optimus units inside Tesla facilities count as manufacturer pilot, not commercial deployment under DEPLOY's maker-facility rule.
Common questions
- What is the difference between Digit and Tesla Optimus?
- Digit and Tesla Optimus are both humanoid robots on the DEPLOY registry. They differ in maker, maturity, price, verified deployments, and how much of their autonomy is independently verified. See the table above for the full head-to-head; each figure is sourced.
- Which is cheaper, Digit or Tesla Optimus?
- Tesla Optimus has the lower recorded price on the DEPLOY registry than Digit. Prices are sourced; see each record for whether the figure is a manufacturer target, an estimate, or an actual sale price.
- Is Digit or Tesla Optimus more autonomous?
- Digit has more capabilities independently verified as autonomous on the DEPLOY registry than Tesla Optimus. DEPLOY counts a capability as autonomous only when verified at a real deployment, not from a demo or a vendor claim.
- Which has more verified deployments, Digit or Tesla Optimus?
- Digit has more verified deployments (8) on the DEPLOY registry than Tesla Optimus (2). DEPLOY counts a deployment only when confirmed at a named site with a primary source.
Recent coverage
- ECB Digital Euro Trial Enlists Firms from Revolut to UniCreditDigit · Bloomberg Technology · 2026-07-14
- Automation Expo 2026 Returns to Mumbai with 700+ ExhibitorsDigit · TimesTech · 2026-07-14
- Tesla leases 683,000 sq ft Austin building in Musk’s Texas sweepTesla Optimus · Electrek · 2026-07-08
- Tesla launches ‘Tesla Home’ with Opticaster AI to cut power billsTesla Optimus · Electrek · 2026-07-08
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