(ECNS) -- Chinese robotics startup Unitree Robotics on Tuesday unveiled what it said is the world's first mass-produced piloted mech robot, drawing attention online after Elon Musk described it as "cool."
In the video posted on X, Unitree founder and CEO Wang Xingxing was seen personally climbing into the GD01 mech and operating it across mixed terrain, with the footage presented in real time.
Priced from 3.9 million yuan ($650,000), the robot weighs roughly 500 kilograms with a rider onboard. It can switch between two-legged and four-legged movement modes. In bipedal form, it walks and turns on urban surfaces, while its quadruped mode is designed for more challenging terrain, including stairs and slopes.
The GD01 has drawn comparisons to "Transformers" on Chinese social media, though some users questioned its practicality as a civilian vehicle, noting its high cost and niche use case.
Founded in Hangzhou, Unitree is among a group of emerging tech firms sometimes referred to as the city's "six little dragons." It first gained global attention for its agile quadruped robot dogs before moving aggressively into humanoid robots. It has delivered more than 5,500 humanoid robots in 2025, accounting for 32.4% of the global market.
(By Zhang Dongfang)
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