A new control strategy based on optimal control theory is developed in this paper and applied to an induction motor drive. The distinguished feature of the proposed control design is that it achieves the same performances as the field oriented control without the need for heavy and expensive gain tuning. The idea of LQ design of the control rule is interesting and useful, as the PH) controller tuning for induction machine control is quite difficult task. The proposed strategy minimizes the energy used for the control and ensures the stabilization and excellent tracking performance of the system. Simplicity of the overall scheme, minimization of the required energy and the elimination of the need for gain tuning are the main positive features of the proposed approach.