Tesla’s Chinese Robot Rival Ramps Pre-IPO Global Push

Article content(Bloomberg) — Unitree Robotics began selling its cheapest humanoid robot on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s AliExpress on Wednesday, expanding its international presence in a white-hot race featuring heavyweight players like Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc.Sign In or Create an AccountEmail AddressContinueor View more offersArticle contentHangzhou-based Unitree’s R1 model will cost roughly $8,150 with import fees factored in, and shipping to the US will be free of charge, the company said on Wednesday. It’ll also offer a scaled-down version priced at about $6,800. The R1 robots will be sold to markets including the US, Canada, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore via AliExpress, according to a Unitree spokesperson.Article contentWe apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Article contentArticle contentIt’s an aggressive move to seek out customers in Tesla’s home market, at a time when the US company is still developing its Optimus humanoid product line. Unitree’s partnership with Alibaba, which is making a bigger effort to sell Chinese goods to overseas markets, comes ahead of a 4.2 billion yuan ($615 million) initial public offering on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-like Star Market. The robotics specialist is widely seen as China’s leader in developing humanoids, and its founder Wang Xingxing rubbed shoulders with Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s Pony Ma at a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in February last year. Article contentTop StoriesGet the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.There was an error, please provide a valid email address.Sign UpBy signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.Thanks for signing up!A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againInterested in more newsletters? Browse here.Article contentChinese robot makers led global shipment volumes in 2025, far outstripping US rivals including Tesla and Figure AI, according to research agency Omdia. Unitree launched the R1 in July in three configurations, starting at $4,900 for the lower-spec R1 Air version, setting a new mark for affordability of such machines. Article contentUnitree already sells its robots overseas through JD.com Inc.’s JoyBuy platform and via Amazon.com Inc. Backed by Xiaomi Corp.

Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun’s venture Shunwei Capital, Alibaba and food delivery giant Meituan, Unitree sold some 5,500 humanoid robots in 2025, mostly to universities and research labs. Rising demand both at home and abroad for its bipedal and quadruped robots has fueled a more than 300% surge in revenue last year, according to the company’s IPO prospectus.Article contentAlibaba, for its part, this week announced that it too is getting into the robotics arena with plans to develop and sell its own four-legged robot, which would compete with Unitree’s Go series. Its AliExpress has also tried to entice more established brand names over from Amazon, stepping up efforts to expand its footprint on the Seattle-based firm’s home turf.Article content—With assistance from Jessica Sui and Luz Ding.Article content(Updates with details of Alibaba’s international expansion in last paragraph. A previous version corrected currency conversion in third paragraph.)Article contentTrending Forcing people to pay a moral tax if they leave the country won't inspire them to stay Personal Finance Posthaste: Canadian dollar is being dumped from FX reserves at a record pace. What's going on? News Canada needs to invest $1.8 trillion over the next decade in six key sectors, says RBC News What is Anthropic's Mythos AI model and why does it have the financial world in a panic? Innovation China shock 2.0: the flood of high-tech goods that will change the world Financial Times Share this article in your social networkCommentsYou must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.Create an AccountSign in Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Forcing people to pay a moral tax if they leave the country won't inspire them to stay Personal Finance Posthaste: Canadian dollar is being dumped from FX reserves at a record pace. What's going on? News Canada needs to invest $1.8 trillion over the next decade in six key sectors, says RBC News What is Anthropic's Mythos AI model and why does it have the financial world in a panic? Innovation China shock 2.0: the flood of high-tech goods that will change the world Financial Times