Chinese humanoid robot maker Unitree surged 460 per cent on its Shanghai debut, reaching a $51bn market capitalisation that dwarfs even Tesla. The $900mn IPO saw retail demand thousands of times oversubscribed, fuelled by familiarity with Unitree's trick-performing robots and a roster of backers including Tencent and Deep Seek. At its IPO valuation, Unitree priced at 27 times this year's estimated sales; debut gains push that multiple above 150.

Tesla, by contrast, trades at 13 times 2026 forecast sales despite Elon Musk's claim that its Optimus robot will become "the biggest product ever." Analysts project massive addressable markets: Morgan Stanley sees nearly 1bn humanoids by 2050, while UBS estimates 300mn creating a $1.7tn opportunity. The appeal lies in versatility — one humanoid could assemble components, manage warehouse transport, or stock shelves.

Yet commercial viability remains distant. Unitree sold just 5,215 humanoids last year, mostly as research platforms. The machines are too expensive for industrial use, manage only a couple of hours between charges, and cannot yet perform household tasks. Unitree's new "Superman" biped signals ambition, but matching investor enthusiasm with reality is a superhuman task.