Over its history, Tesla (TSLA 2.56%) has changed its strategic objectives multiple times.
With its EV business now stalling after two straight years of declining unit sales, Tesla has now shifted investor focus to autonomy, namely its emerging robotaxi network and its autonomous humanoid robot, Optimus.
From an investor's perspective, that strategy has been a success so far. As of Jan. 27, Tesla stock is trading near all-time highs with a market cap just shy of $1.5 trillion, despite flattish growth and declining profit margins over the last two years. Investors have bought into Musk's pitch about autonomy, and believe Tesla will be the leader of a potentially massive industry made up of self-driving cars and autonomous robots.
However, there's another robotics company that was valued at just $1 billion five years ago that is now arguably ahead of Tesla in autonomous robots. That's Boston Dynamics, which is now majority-owned by Hyundai Motor Group.
Hyundai acquired an 80% stake in Boston Dynamics from Softbank in June 2021, which valued the robot maker at $1.1 billion.
The Atlas robot (left) was named Best Robot at CES. Image source: Boston Dynamics.
What you should know about Boston Dynamics
Boston Dynamics may not be a household name, but you've likely seen videos of its robots, including a quadrupedal, dog-like robot called Spot, which was its first commercial robot to go on sale in 2020, Stretch, a robot designed to automate warehouse tasks like moving boxes, and Atlas, a humanoid robot that was just named best robot at the CES show earlier this month.
CNET Group, which assembled a voting panel of more than 40 experts that awarded Atlas "Best Robot," said, "The Atlas was hands-down the best of the humanoid bunch we saw at CES 2026. The prototype version demoed at the show impressed us with its naturalistic walking gait. Meanwhile, the sleek product version is ready to be deployed into Hyundai manufacturing facilities from this year, where it might just be working on your next car."
Is the Boston Dynamics Atlas better than the Tesla Optimus?
Neither the Atlas nor the Optimus is on the market yet, so a straightforward evaluation of the two robots is difficult.
However, the Atlas is poised to be first to market as Boston Dynamics is now beginning commercial production with plans for tens of thousands of Atlas robots to be used in Hyundai factories. Additionally, Boston Dynamics forged a partnership with Google DeepMind to integrate its foundation models into Atlas.
At this point, the consensus is that Atlas has an edge over Optimus in areas like mobility and agility, and barring a major surprise, it will be first to market. Tesla bulls may tout its AI and software capabilities, but it's unclear if that's a true advantage for Tesla, considering the Atlas also has autonomous capabilities.
For now, it's clear at the very least that Tesla has serious competition in humanoid robotics and there's a good argument that it's fallen behind Boston Dynamics.
It's also worth remembering that Boston Dynamics was worth just $1.1 billion five years ago, which means that either investors are dramatically overvaluing Tesla's Optimus, or Hyundai got an incredible bargain when it acquired that stake from Softbank.
OTC: HYMTF
Key Data Points
What it means for Hyundai
Hyundai Motor Group, which includes Kia and Genesis, is now the world's third-largest automaker behind Toyota and Volkswagen as of 2024 data, and it's also the third-largest EV-maker in the world behind Tesla and BYD in part due to the success of its Ioniq line of vehicles.
If Hyundai were a U.S.-listed stock, it would likely be getting a lot of attention from investors here, especially with the recent success of Boston Dynamics, but it's listed in South Korea, meaning investors can either purchase it over-the-counter or directly through a brokerage that allows investing in the Korea Exchange.
Hyundai currently has a market cap of roughly $90 billion, and it trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of just 12. For a company that's emerging as a leader in autonomous robots and is a top producer of both combustion and electric vehicles, that looks like a bargain price.
Rather than pay a sky-high premium for Tesla, Hyundai offers exposure to a strong and growing auto manufacturer with a thriving robotics business at an excellent price.
