At 4 PM on November 6, CCTV News released a message via its official Weibo account that former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivered an important speech at the Palm Beach Convention Center in Florida in the early hours of November 6 local time, announcing his victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. This news not only caused an uproar in American politics but also quickly attracted global attention.

Although Trump's victory may not be a direct goal pursued by Musk, who is dedicated to promoting the dream of human colonization on Mars, this political change undoubtedly brings new development opportunities for Musk's exploration in fields such as humanoid robots. During the campaign, Trump reiterated the importance of manufacturing to the country and promised to strive to bring manufacturing back to the United States. Musk's humanoid robot technology happens to align well with this policy orientation, promising to become a key force in promoting the revitalization of the U.S. manufacturing industry.

In view of this, this article will delve into the latest developments in the robot industry chain in the A-share market, providing valuable reference information for investors.

01. Is Tesla about to go into mass production?

The development of humanoid robots is accelerating. As a pioneer in this field, Tesla has frequently released the latest progress of its Optimus robot this year, indicating the deepening of technological iteration and application. From the beginning of the year to February, Tesla demonstrated the capabilities of Optimus Gen-2 in tasks such as folding clothes and walking in factories. Although some tasks still required assistance, it demonstrated the robot's potential autonomy and motion control accuracy in complex environments.

In May, Tesla further disclosed the practical application of Optimus on the production line—accurately sorting battery cells, which relied solely on 2D vision, tactile feedback, and force sensing technology, showcasing its end-to-end neural network's efficient learning and real-time processing capabilities. Meanwhile, the plan to increase the dexterity of the robot's hands to 22 degrees of freedom was proposed, indicating a significant improvement in the flexibility and accuracy of humanoid robots' operations, potentially becoming a new benchmark for industry development.

In June, Musk revealed a grander vision at the shareholders' meeting: Tesla factories are expected to deploy thousands of humanoid robots next year and emphasized that these robots will continue to evolve, gaining the ability to learn new skills through observation, suggesting a deep integration of artificial intelligence and robotics technology.

Recently, Musk revealed that Tesla is optimizing the design of Optimus to overcome production bottlenecks, demonstrating the company's continuous investment in enhancing robot performance and efficiency. Morgan Stanley's analysis points out that key components such as sensors and motors not only account for a high proportion of costs but also represent technological barriers. Among the robot's functions, the value of parts such as legs and dexterous hands is particularly prominent. Especially, the increase in dexterity of the hands will greatly enhance the robot's operational precision and adaptability.

02. Are domestic parts manufacturers about to increase production?

Against the backdrop of the global humanoid robot industry's rapid development, the domestic humanoid robot industry is also showing vigorous momentum, with accelerated mergers and acquisitions among manufacturers aiming to build a more comprehensive ecosystem. In the next three to five years, it is expected that parts suppliers and complete machine manufacturers will maintain professional division of labor, jointly promoting industrial development through close cooperation, while providing customized services for specific application scenarios, forming a favorable situation of upstream and downstream collaboration and common progress. Domestic humanoid robot manufacturers are accelerating their breakthroughs, striving to be 'harmonious but different' in the global market, showcasing the unique charm of Made in China.

This year, Unitree released the G1 for the first time, showcasing excellent athletic performance and fully embodying the cost-reducing advantages of domestic supply chains. The G1 is equipped with 23-43 joint motors throughout its body, mainly rotational actuators, with some joints capable of rotating over 180 degrees. Optional features include a force-controlled 3-finger dexterous hand, and basic sensors include 3D LiDAR and depth cameras. The G1 demonstrates large-angle joint rotation, performing actions such as cross-legged sitting and standing in place, and showcasing operational control capabilities such as cracking nuts, opening bottle caps, and welding. Currently, the basic version of the G1 is priced at 99,000 yuan. In August, Unitree released an upgraded version of the G1's mass production design, enabling top-notch gait control such as single-leg jumping and smooth ladder climbing.

Zhiyuan released a total of five new commercial humanoid robot models: "Expedition" and "Lingxi" series, including Expedition A2, Expedition A2-W, Expedition A2-Max, Lingxi X1, and Lingxi X1-W. Simultaneously, it showcased a series of independently developed technological achievements in the robot's power domain, perception domain, communication domain, and control domain.

After sorting out the industrial chain of robot parts, the author found that in terms of assemblers, there are leading enterprises such as Sanhua Intelligent Controls, Top Group, Leadshine, and Zhongda Force. These companies assemble various parts of humanoid robots, driving the overall development of the industrial chain.

The reducer field is also highly competitive, with companies such as Siling, Henggong Precision, Suzhou Bearing, Double Rings, and Jingduan Technology continuously conducting research and development and innovation to improve the performance and reliability of reducers.

In the screw field, companies such as Beite Technology, Best, Hengli Hydraulic, Wuzhou Xinchun, and Fengli Intelligence are all making layouts to provide high-quality screw products.

In the sensor field, companies such as Kele Sensors, CoreMotion, Donghua Testing, and Huayi Technology provide important sensing capabilities for humanoid robots with their advanced technologies and precise products.

In the field of motors and dexterous hands, companies such as Moons' Industry, Micro Motor, Weichuang Electric, Leadshine Intelligence, and Dingzhi Technology continue to introduce new products, providing humanoid robots with powerful driving force and flexible operational capabilities.

Furthermore, companies in the equipment field, such as Boke, Jiangsu Leili, Rifa Precision Machinery, and Zhejiang Haideman, are actively participating, providing necessary equipment support for the production and manufacturing of humanoid robots.

Companies that achieved year-on-year growth in performance in the first half of the year include: Beite Technology, Leadshine Intelligence, Donghua Testing, Double Rings, Weichuang Electric, Top Group, Henggong Precision, CoreMotion, Suzhou Bearing, Siling, Sanhua Intelligent Controls, Hengli Hydraulic, Jiangsu Leili, Shuanglin, and Huayi Technology.

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