Figure retires its Figure 02 humanoid robots by melting them in a Finnish steel furnace
AI robotics firm Figure has retired its fleet of Figure 02 humanoid robots, and it chose a theatrical way to get rid of them: the robots jumped into molten steel. Gizmodo's account, which leans on Figure's own blog post and social posts, runs as follows.
Figure wrote in a blog post that the robots were no longer maintainable. The company decided to destroy them completely to protect their "custom-built actuators and other intellectual property" from leaks. The method came from Arnold Schwarzenegger, the franchise star and former California governor, who tweeted to Figure CEO Brett Adcock: "You should melt them." That is how the shape-shifting T-1000 assassin was disposed of in Terminator 2.
Finding a furnace was the hard part. According to Figure's blog post, "None of the metal foundries we contacted in the US and Mexico would let us jump a robot with lithium-ion batteries into their expensive equipment." One steel foundry in Imatra, Finland did volunteer. Figure then began training its robots to jump off cliffs in simulation.
Figure posted a clip titled "F.02 Decommission" on September 30, 2026. According to the article, once taken to the facility the robots went to their deaths without error, despite what Figure called "extreme heat and electromagnetic fields." The article's author adds a speculative aside: if the robots look like they hesitated before jumping, that is presumably because Figure told them to, or because they were calculating the right trajectory. A 75-ton electric arc furnace did the job in "just 24 hours and six melts," a phrase quoted from Figure. Schwarzenegger made a cameo, trading a thumbs-up with one of the disintegrating robots and saying "Hasta la vista, Figure 02."
Figure is also selling preorders on metal bars made from the remains, at $500 to $1,900 apiece. The more expensive memento is already sold out. Figure summed up the stunt this way: "We really trained robots to jump autonomously, shipped them to Finland, and had them leap into a vat of molten steel." The article closes with the hope that humans aren't next.
Key facts
- Figure retired its fleet of Figure 02 humanoid robots and, per its blog post, destroyed them to protect custom-built actuators and other intellectual property from leaks.
- The robots jumped into molten steel at a foundry in Imatra, Finland, after foundries in the US and Mexico refused because of the lithium-ion batteries.
- A 75-ton electric arc furnace finished the job in "just 24 hours and six melts," and Arnold Schwarzenegger made a cameo after suggesting the melt on social media.
- Figure is taking preorders on metal bars made from the remains at $500 to $1,900 apiece; the more expensive one is sold out.
Why it matters
Mostly it is a stunt, and the article treats it as one, framing it through Terminator 2. The practical point underneath is that Figure says the Figure 02 robots could no longer be maintained and that it wanted them gone completely so that its custom-built actuators and other intellectual property could not leak. The company also claims it trained the robots to make the jump on their own, in simulation first, and says they carried it out without error.
Who it affects
Mainly Figure, which gets a publicity moment and a merchandise line out of retiring its old hardware. Foundries come into it too: those contacted in the US and Mexico declined, and one steel foundry in Imatra, Finland agreed. Buyers of the metal bars are the other group, since preorders are open. The article does not say how many robots were in the fleet or how many were melted.
How to use it
There is nothing to deploy. The one thing a reader can act on is the merchandise: Figure is taking preorders on metal bars made from the remains at $500 to $1,900 apiece, and the more expensive bar is sold out. The article gives no further terms.
How solid is it
The account rests on Figure's own blog post and its "F.02 Decommission" post of September 30, 2026, as relayed by Gizmodo. The furnace size, the "24 hours and six melts" figure and the claim that the robots jumped autonomously all come from Figure's side. The remark about the robots appearing to hesitate is the article author's own guess, not a fact. The article gives no date for the melt itself.
Risks and caveats
Figure's own words show why this was not routine: foundries in the US and Mexico would not let a robot with lithium-ion batteries into their equipment. The reasoning about hesitation before the jump is speculation. The article gives no cost for the operation, no count of robots destroyed, and no figures on how many bars have been preordered, so the commercial side of the stunt cannot be judged from it.
“We really trained robots to jump autonomously, shipped them to Finland, and had them leap into a vat of molten steel”
— Figure