Hugging Face unveils new low-cost, ‘open-source' humanoid robots to take on Tesla
Hugging Face has announced two new robots that it is bringing to market, including a humanoid that the AI development platform plans on selling for around $3,000.
HopeJR is an open-source humanoid robot that has been designed and built by Hugging Face in partnership with French robotics company The Robot Studio. The humanoid costs much lesser than other robots developed by competitors like Unitree, whose G1 robot costs $16,000, and Elon Musk-owned Tesla's Optimus Gen 2 humanoid which is expected to cost at least $20,000.
'The important aspect is that these robots are open source, so anyone can assemble, rebuild, [and] understand how they work, and [they're] affordable, so that robotics doesn't get dominated by just a few big players with dangerous black-box systems,' Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue was quoted as saying by TechCrunch.
Meet HopeJr, a full humanoid robot lowering the barrier to entry!
Capable of walking, manipulating many objects, open-source and costs under $3000 🤯
Designed by @therobotstudio and @huggingface 👇 pic.twitter.com/wCwo8YPOGV
— Remi Cadene (@RemiCadene) May 29, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The announcement comes at a time when the field of robotics is seeing renewed interest, fueled by the momentum of the generative AI revolution. However, there are still several technical challenges that need to be addressed before humanoid robots can be reliably deployed in real-world environments.
Battery life is one such hurdle as the Unitree's G1 can only run for two hours on a single charge, as per a report by ArsTechnica. Hugging Face's HopeJR, on the other hand, has over 66 actuated degrees of freedom. This means that it has the ability to walk and handle or 'manipulate' objects, according to Remi Cadene, a principal research scientist at Hugging Face. Cadene previously worked at Tesla on the EV-maker's Optimus humanoid robot.
The AI and machine learning platform has also developed another robot called Reachy Mini that looks like one of the characters from Disney's popular animated film 'Wall-E'. Reachy Mini is also open-source and has been designed to test out AI applications. It is a desktop unit that has the ability to talk, listen, and move its head. Reachy Mini is expected to cost between $250 and $300.
While Hugging Face has not provided specific timelines for when the two humanoid will start shipping, its CEO reportedly said that the waitlist to be among the first to buy HopeJR and Reachy Mini is currently open.
In the past, Hugging Face has released various AI models designed to power robots as well as 3D-printable robotic arms. Earlier this year, the company reportedly acquired Pollen Robotics, a humanoid robotics company based in France, for an undisclosed amount.
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