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Tesla stock is higher today despite more Chinese robot rivalry.
Chinese robots may be a little like London buses. You wait an hour for one and then three turn up at once.
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After a week of robotic developments in China with Unitree and AI2 Robotics unveiling future plans, a unit of Ant Group – part of Alibaba (BABA) has just launched its first humanoid robot.
Chef Skills
According to an article in the South China Morning Post, the wheeled, two-armed R1 is already in production and has been shipped out to customers including a museum.
The humanoid was developed by Ant’s robotics unit Ant Lingbo Technology, also known as Robbyant. The company said the first-generation R1 weighed 110kg, stood between 1.6 and 1.75 metres tall, moved at under 1.5 metres per second and had 34 degrees of freedom. It gave a strange range of uses for the humanoid, citing its potential as a chef and also a tour guide.
Perhaps it could be both at once.
What it definitely does is add to the increasingly competitive global robot marketplace. According to Morgan Stanley, the number of robots that resemble and act like humans is likely to reach nearly 1 billion by 2050, with China currently leading in development.
However, EV maker Tesla (TSLA) is also a key player.
Tesla Challenge
Ant’s move came just days after robot group Unitree was reported to likely to be valued at $7 billion when it launches its planned IPO in Shanghai, Chinese peer AI2 Robotics has said it also wants to list in one to two years.
AI2 is counting on robust revenue growth in the industrial sector as demand grows for non-humans in factories. The company makes general-purpose robots, called AlphaBot2, that are capable of doing assembly tasks, quality inspections and testing. The upper half is humanoid in form, but it moves around on six wheels.
They are controlled by its AI foundational model Alpha Brain, which has been trained in-house and is now open-sourced.
Unitree released a number of videos last year showing its robots walking, climbing and carrying loads. It also won multiple medals at the World Humanoid Robot Games this summer, including the 4X100 relay.
Tesla, arguably best known for its electric vehicles, recently unveiled its Master Plan Part IV, highlighting AI and robotics as the primary drivers of much-needed future growth. Chief Executive Elon Musk claims that about 80% of Tesla’s long-term value will come from its Optimus humanoid robot project.
It is an ever-important part of the new Tesla ecosystem – see above.
Is TSLA a Good Stock to Buy Now?
On TipRanks, TSLA has a Hold consensus based on 14 Buy, 13 Hold and 7 Sell ratings. Its highest price target is $500. TSLA stock’s consensus price target is $313.62, implying an 18.83% downside.
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