The new frontier and the comparison with Tesla
According to founder and CEO Felix Zhang Tao, speaking to the South China Morning Post, humanoid robots represent the next frontier for Pudu Robotics. The company, which presents itself as a global leader in commercial robotics, is thus preparing to compete in the segment with Tesla, Elon Musk’s company.
Zhang described Tesla as “definitely a competitor, but a long-term one.” The CEO added that the rival is “very strong” and that its prominence has driven innovation and broadened market awareness of robotics. These are remarks from a recent interview, and therefore company assessments rather than independently verified market data.
The new element is Pudu’s announced entry into the humanoid field: a change of scope relative to its established business and direct competition, for now only announced, with a high-profile player such as Tesla.
A model built on service robots
Pudu is based in Shenzhen and has built its business on specialized machines: robots that wash hotel floors, carry dishes in restaurants, and move heavy goods in factories. According to consultancy Frost & Sullivan, cited in the material, in 2025 the company ranked first worldwide by shipments and revenue in the commercial service robot segment.
The figure showing that 80% of sales are generated abroad, reported in the original article’s headline, helps explain why international expansion is central to its strategy. Leadership in service robots provides the industrial and commercial base on which the company intends to graft the new humanoid line, but the material does not indicate volumes, investments, or market launch timelines for the latter.
The bet on Europe and the open issues
Europe is identified as Pudu’s main overseas market, and the company is evaluating production activities on the continent. Last month it opened its European headquarters in Germany, after launching its U.S. base in Dallas in April. The sequence of openings suggests a progression: first the United States, then Europe, with possible local manufacturing as a next step still to be defined.
Several elements remain to be verified. The material does not specify which products or how many units Pudu intends to produce in Europe, nor where a plant might be built, nor the planned investments. It also does not indicate which humanoid segment the company wants to target, with which customers, or on what commercial timeline. Finally, the comparison with Tesla is for now a statement by the CEO: there are no data measuring actual competition between the two companies in this sector.
