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

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.

Hangzhou-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.