Optimus joins Tesla’s line, but Atlas can’t even cross Hyundai’s plant -

From left: The Atlas humanoid robot; Members of the Hyundai Motor labor union stage a protest, calling for a wage increase, in Ulsan on Sept. 3, 2025. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

[NEWS ANALYSIS]

While Hyundai Motor has been enjoying a surge in its market valuation since the unveiling of its Atlas humanoid robot, the Korean automaker is facing a big yet expected obstacle: a hard-line labor union.

With the union’s declaration that “not a single Atlas robot will be permitted onto the factory floor,” this could potentially stall the company’s growth at a time when market rivals such as Tesla are rapidly training their humanoids to deploy them in real-world fields to win the physical AI race.

The Hyundai Motor chapter of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union issued a newsletter on Thursday, rejecting the introduction of AI-powered robots. The union said that such a move would become a “convenient justification for a profit-seeking company” to not hire actual humans and that a “unilateral push without labor-management consensus will never be tolerated.”

The Atlas, developed by Hyundai-backed Boston Dynamics and unveiled at CES 2026 in Las Vegas earlier this month, will be deployed at Hyundai’s Georgia plant beginning in 2028. The group also hinted at a wider deployment through its plan to open a robot factory with an annual capacity of 30,000 units in the United States.

Hyundai’s shares skyrocketed from 308,500 won ($210) on Jan. 6, ahead of CES 2026, to 510,000 as of Friday, a gain of roughly 65 percent in about two weeks.

Atlas, a humanoid robot by Hyundai Motor-backed Boston Dynamics, demonstrates working at a factory at CES 2026 in Las Vegas on Jan. 8. [YONHAP]

Hyundai’s dilemma lies in that rivals, including Tesla and Figure AI, are surging ahead, advancing humanoid technology and formalizing commercialization strategies, while it grapples with union-imposed hurdles, effectively widening the gap in the global humanoid arena.

Tesla in particular has already deployed its in-house humanoid robot, Optimus, on a trial basis for logistics operations at its Texas factory. The EV giant is also building a dedicated Optimus production line in Texas, with a target capacity of 1 million units annually, and plans to begin mass production this year.

Unlike its peers, Tesla has no company-wide labor union, which allows CEO Elon Musk to pursue an aggressive rollout of humanoid robots without the need for labor-management negotiations.

In Europe, even companies with strong labor unions have not faced significant obstacles from them when stationing humanoid robots on the factory floor.

Optimus, a humanoid robot by Tesla [JOONGANG ILBO]

Figure AI’s humanoid robot, Figure 02, was deployed at BMW’s Spartanburg plant in South Carolina, where it operated for 11 months and contributed to the production of 30,000 BMW X3 vehicles.

The robot reportedly handled 90,000 parts, walked a total of 200 miles and worked 10 hours per day on weekdays, accumulating 1,250 hours of operation.

Mercedes-Benz is currently testing the U.S. humanoid robot Apollo, developed by Apptronik, in the logistics and production sections of its Kecskemét plant in Hungary.

“Labor unions are strong in Korea; it’s good to have them on board and make them understand that [this move] is not against them, but it’s rather supporting their members to introduce automation,” said Susanne Bieller, the general secretary of the International Federation of Robotics, during a recent interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily.

“For instance, Germany has strong labor unions, but it really understands well the benefits [of humanoids] and is supportive [of the robots]. That’s also one of the factors increasing productivity: [whether] you have the staff embracing the technology and not fighting against it.”

UBTech Robotics’ Walker S2 humanoid robot is able to swap its battery on its own in three minutes. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

UBTech Robotics, widely regarded as China’s leading humanoid robotics developer, deployed its Walker S1 robot for training at BYD’s factory as early as 2024. The Chinese company also placed dozens of units at facilities operated by Geely, Volkswagen and Audi and has secured preorders exceeding 500 units.

The market estimates the price of a single Atlas robot to be roughly 200 million won, with annual maintenance costs of around 14 million won. Considering the average salary of Hyundai’s production workers, the investment could be recouped within two years.

Atlas can lift weights up to 50 kilograms (110 pounds) and is capable of operating at full performance in extreme temperatures ranging from minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit) to 40 degrees Celsius. It can learn most tasks in a single day.

“Average labor costs in the U.S. manufacturing sector range between $70,000 and $80,000 annually, and since Atlas would be operated 24 hours a day, the initial hourly cost of the robot is estimated at $9.40, which could drop to as low as $1.20 per hour once production exceeds 30,000 units — roughly one-sixth of labor costs in China,” said Esther Lim, an analyst at Samsung Securities.

Kim Gwi-yeon, a researcher at Daishin Securities, predicted that even if Atlas can replace just 10 percent of Hyundai’s production workers, it can help Hyundai save 1.7 trillion won.

“Labor costs at major Hyundai affiliates average around 130 million won per worker, while the annual maintenance cost per humanoid robot is some 14 million won,” Kim explained. “Taking into account actual working hours — eight hours for humans versus 18 for robots — the profitability impact is highly attractive.”

Regarding the concerns of Atlas taking jobs from human labor, Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Chang Jae-hoon said at the CES trade show that he plans to “deploy productive robots for hazardous and repetitive tasks that workers avoid,” and the introduction of robots will also “create new job opportunities related to their operation and maintenance.”