Are Chinese and American Robots Competing from Afar? Tesla Showcases New Design vs. XPeng's Auto Show Stroll, Automakers Lead the Wave of Industrialisation Implementation

After the humanoid robot marathon, robots once again attracted attention today. This time, the spotlight was on two automakers, Tesla and XPeng.

First, Tesla, whose every move can affect the nerves of the robot industry chain: Musk recently revealed that thousands of Optimus humanoid robots are expected to be deployed in factories by 2025, with the goal of achieving an annual production of one million units by 2029-2030. Afterwards, the official Optimus account released a photo of engineers assembling and testing robots in the factory, captioned "Me, Robot"—apparently a play on the movie title "I, Robot."

It is worth noting that

the shoulders of the Optimus in the photo are significantly different from the latest Optimus showcased by Tesla in early April. Later, XPeng's humanoid robot IRON also appeared at the Shanghai Auto Show, demonstrating actions such as walking, waving, and shaking hands, showing significant progress in gait and other aspects compared to the last tech day.

XPeng aims to achieve large-scale industrial production of this humanoid robot by 2026. It can be seen that in this wave of robot deployment, automakers led by Tesla and XPeng are at the forefront. Why automakers? Musk has long positioned Tesla as "the world's largest robotics company" and has repeatedly stated that "our cars are robots with wheels"—

from building cars to building robots, perhaps the distance is not far. For automakers, entering the robotics field may not be considered "crossing boundaries" at all, but rather a way to reuse existing technologies, reduce costs, shorten production cycles, and produce a "new car."

From a supply chain perspective, for automakers, many parts in the supply chain, such as joints and motors, can be reused. The same applies to the technical side. For example, Tesla's Optimus head is equipped with the same smart driving cameras as Tesla cars, with built-in FSD and a shared AI system, achieving "technical homology."

Additionally, repetitive and highly standardized tasks in workshops are more suitable for humanoid robots. Analysts believe that automakers better understand the pain points of application and have more space and patience for experimentation.

As Zhang Yongwei, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the China EV100, said, this year "AI+" will be a new strategic opportunity for the automotive industry. This "+" could be humanoid robots, low-altitude economy, or others. "After the intelligentization of the automotive industry, its aggregation and spillover effects will significantly accelerate, and the smart car industry can easily become an aggregated smart industry... The four legs of a smart car turning into two legs become a robot, and the car becomes a deeply intelligent entity that can be used in production and service fields."

Kaiyuan Securities' research report pointed out that AI and software determine (robot) hardware. Among overseas manufacturers, Tesla has built a complete AI system from models, data, computing power to chips, and has established a highly supportive supply chain system. It is expected to produce 5,000 robots in 2025, with a tenfold growth rate in the next two years, leading in industrialization progress. From an investment perspective, the Tesla chain is a key focus. Domestic robots such as Huawei and Unitree are accelerating to catch up and address shortcomings, driving opportunities in the domestic supply chain. Analysts suggest that the domestic chain focus on common key technologies, including actuators, lead screws, motors, reducers, sensors, and other critical components.