TL;DR: While Tesla’s Optimus remains in the factory testing phase, Unitree has quietly started shipping its G1 humanoid robot for a shockingly low $16,000.
Everyone loves to talk about Tesla Optimus. Elon Musk certainly knows how to generate hype. But while his bot is still walking around the Tesla factory floor, someone else just ate their lunch.
Unitree just started shipping the G1. Today. For $16,000.
That price tag is insane. A few years ago, we were looking at six figures just to get a robot that could barely walk up some stairs. Now, anyone with the budget for a used Honda Civic can buy a fully functional humanoid.
Does the Optimus have better long-term AI potential? Maybe. But Unitree is putting actual hardware into people’s hands right now. Sometimes, the winner of the race isn’t the one with the best specs. It’s the one who ships.