Nvidia Partners with Unitree for Humanoid Robots; Tesla Shares Drop 4.6%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) deepened its push into humanoid robotics on June 1, 2026, unveiling an open reference design at COMPUTEX that pairs its Isaac GR00T AI platform with Unitree’s H2 Plus robot and Sharpa’s dexterous hand. The announcement heightened rivalry with Tesla Inc. (TSLA), whose shares slid 4.6% on the same day while the S&P 500 rose 0.3%. The design, powered by Nvidia’s Jetson Thor computing platform, aims to lower development barriers and capture a slice of what CEO Jensen Huang called a “multi-trillion-dollar economic opportunity.” Separately, Tesla has halted Model S and X production at its Fremont plant to ramp up its own Optimus humanoid robot, betting on a market that CEO Elon Musk predicts could sell billions of units at around $20,000 each. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Sheppard noted that humanoid robots share key components with electric vehicles, including motors and actuators, and that China currently produces over 80% of such robots. U.S. production is expected to rise markedly in the next 12 months, with startups like Figure AI and Agility Robotics joining the fray. OpenAI also disclosed hiring for its nascent robotics unit, adding to the competitive pressure on Tesla.