A new competitor has emerged for Elon Musk and Tesla Inc.’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) humanoid-robot goals after a former Optimus team member announced a new company competing in the robotics space.
UMA Announces Robot
The new venture, called UMA, is led by former Tesla scientist Rémi Cadène, who spent about three years at Tesla working on AI tied to both driver-assistance and Optimus, Electrek reported on Tuesday.
Universal Mechanical Assistant, or UMA, based in Paris, France, says its first concept, a lightweight humanoid dubbed Northstar, is aimed initially at factories and warehouses, with a longer-term goal of home use.
Cadène also said the company is already in discussions with 50 prospective customers and wants to begin industrial pilots as early as this year, the report said. However, UMA will initially target Europe for its operations, the report said.
Tesla’s Optimus Reaches Production Goal
Musk recently shared that the Optimus production at the Fremont facility in California had reached a new milestone as the first production line for the robot was set up by Tesla. VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy had shared that the facility could include close to 40 lines of production due to the robot’s complicated and intricate design.
Musk also said that Optimus, combined with artificial intelligence, could make “excellent” healthcare accessible to everyone as robots continue developing.
Figure Lands JCPenney Deal
Tesla rival Figure shared in May that it had landed a deal with Catalyst Brands, an operator of several former mall staples, including JCPenney, Aeropostale and more.
The deal came after the robot appeared at the White House earlier this year alongside First Lady Melania Trump at the Fostering the Future Together Initiative Global Summit.
According to Benzinga Edge Rankings, Tesla offers satisfactory Momentum and Quality. It also offers a favorable price trend in the Short, Medium and Long term.
Price Action: Tesla shares were down 1.47% to $398.54 during premarket trading on Wednesday.
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