Li Auto's future foray into humanoid robots is a 100 percent certainty, just not right now, said its CEO.
The CEO of Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) believes that smart cars are simple robots, and that the company will eventually get into the more complex field of humanoid robots.
The company's involvement in humanoid robots is “definitely 100 percent in probability,” Li Xiang, founder, chairman and CEO of Li Auto, said in response to a question at an AI Talk event yesterday.
But the time to get involved in the field is not now, Li added.
He believes that cars will evolve from transportation vehicles in the industrial age to space robots in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). And before more sophisticated robots can be developed, the challenges facing autonomous driving need to be addressed first.
“If we can't even solve the L4 autonomous car (challenge), how are we going to solve more complex (problems)?” Li said.
The car is now a contactless robot and the roads are standardized, including the signs and participants on the road, he said.
Cars are already the simplest robots, and if they can't drive autonomously, then other AI robots will have very limited capabilities, Li said.
Li positioned Li Auto as an AI company, saying its goal is not to make cars smart, but to use cars as a vehicle for AI to reach every family.
In an internal letter dated January 28, 2023, about 2 years ago, Li said Li Auto's vision is to be the world's leading AI company by 2030.
Smart EVs with self-driving capabilities will be the first AI robots, as well as creating the mother ecosystem of AI in the physical world, he said at the time.
In the field of humanoid robots, several Chinese companies have launched products and are already being used in automobile production lines.
Hong Kong-listed humanoid robot maker UBTech Robotics (HKG: 9880) shared a video on Weibo on February 22 showing its Walker S robot working on an assembly line at one of Nio's (NYSE: NIO) factories.
One of Zeekr's (NYSE: ZK) factories started using the Walker S Lite in early July, UBTech said on August 5.
At yesterday's AI Talk event, Li was also asked if Li Auto would launch robotaxis like Elon Musk's Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA).
"I don't want to launch (robotaxis) because our mission is to 'Create a Mobile Home, Create Happiness,'" Li said.
On July 27, William Li, founder, chairman and CEO of Nio (NYSE: NIO), also mentioned that robotaxi is not an exciting business model and that Nio would not enter the space.
Unlike Li Auto and Nio, Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) is betting heavily on the robotaxi space.
Xpeng has been exploring the robotaxi business since the second half of 2022, with the G9 SUV (sport utility vehicle) receiving a permit for open road testing as a robotaxi on October 31, 2022, in Guangzhou, where the company is headquartered.
He Xiaopeng, the company's chairman and CEO, said on Weibo in July that Xpeng would launch a very competitive robotaxi in 2026 at a set pace, but would not get involved in operations.
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