Notes/6 Nov 2026
Tesla Optimus vs Unitree G1: one tells you how it thinks, the other what it is made of
They are the two humanoids people ask about most. One you can order today: the Unitree G1 is listed at US$13,500 for the basic version. The other is not for sale yet: Tesla Optimus works inside Tesla, which says production began on its Fremont lines in the third quarter, and Elon Musk puts its long-term price at about US$20,000 to US$30,000.
We went through every sourced fact on both robots, part by part. The short version: Tesla tells you how Optimus thinks. Unitree tells you what the G1 is made of.
The AI model
This is the one place Tesla says more. It builds its own brain; Unitree gives developers a body to run other people's.
Tesla Optimus
One end-to-end neural network: camera images in, movement out, built by the same team as Tesla's Full Self-Driving software.
Grok, xAI's chatbot, handles speech and voice.
Unitree G1
Unitree's own training kit runs outside models: Pi 0.5 and Nvidia's GR00T.
Unitree's own open model, UnifoLM-WMA-0Likely
The chip
Tesla is making its own chip for Optimus but has not said what runs the robots built today. The G1's chip is in a public filing.
Tesla Optimus
The 2022 prototype reused Tesla's Full Self-Driving computer, in its chest.
Tesla's own AI5 will go into Optimus first, with volume production hoped for around mid-2027. Tesla has not said which chip runs robots built before then.
Unitree G1
A Rockchip RK3588S, clearly marked in the internal photos Unitree filed with the US FCC.
The EDU version adds an Nvidia Jetson Orin NX for developers.
The senses
Both see mainly with cameras. Only one names them.
Tesla Optimus
Cameras are its main sense, as in Tesla's cars. Tesla has not said how many or who makes them.
Touch sensors on every finger, and force sensing in the feet for balance.
Unitree G1
An Intel RealSense D435i depth camera in the head.
A Livox Mid-360 lidar, the Mid-360S on robots made from April 2026.
The body
The biggest gap. Unitree publishes model numbers and torque limits; Tesla's details mostly date from 2022.
Tesla Optimus
28 actuators built from six types, designed and made by Tesla, shown at AI Day 2022.
A newer hand with 22 joints, plus 3 in the wrist and forearm.
A 2.3 kWh battery on the 2022 prototype.
Planetary roller screws in its linear actuatorsRumoured
No published joint torques, gear types, bearings, motor types or battery cell company, no robot model files and no FCC filing.
Unitree G1
Unitree's own joint motors, by model: four N7520-22.5 in the hips and knees, capped at 139 N.m in Unitree's training code; five N7520-14.3; and sixteen N5020-16 on the 29-joint version.
Unitree's own planetary gearboxes inside each joint, on crossed roller bearings.
A swappable 9000mAh battery; spares are US$700.
How it learns
Here they look alike: both start with people steering the robot, then practise in simulation.
Tesla Optimus
Teleoperated demonstrations first, then video of people doing tasks, which scales faster.
A neural world simulator and the Cortex training cluster in Texas.
Unitree G1
Teleoperation through an Apple Vision Pro, Pico or Meta Quest headset.
Walking learned in Isaac Gym, then checked in MuJoCo before the real robot.
The software
Tesla writes its own and keeps it in-house. Unitree publishes a free kit anyone can program the G1 with.
Tesla Optimus
Written by Tesla's Full Self-Driving AI team. No operating system, developer kit or app tools published.
Unitree G1
Unitree SDK 2, free to download and use.
ROS 2 supportLikely
What it adds up to
On the Openness Index, which scores how much of what is inside a robot is named and on the record, the G1 scores 80 and Optimus 52.
That fits what each robot is for. The G1 is sold to developers and researchers, who need the part list to build on it. Optimus works inside Tesla, and what Tesla shares is how its AI learns. When Optimus goes on sale, expect its spec sheet to grow; we will add each new fact as Tesla publishes it.
How we compared
Every line comes from the two robots' pages on Teardex, where each fact has a public source and a tag for how sure we are. Anything not Confirmed is marked here too. The side by side page is always up to date.