Claim ledger
Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot
Built, shipped, installed, working: four counts, quoted as one. Almost nobody publishes the fourth.
- Claims
- 24
- Verified at the primary source
- 22
- Removed before publication
- 5
- Last checked
24 claims: 22 verified, 2 reported. Plus 5 removed before publication, listed at the end.
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What the essay claims
Most people who follow robotics believe the deployment numbers are roughly known and roughly rising: some thousands of humanoids are out there doing jobs, and the number goes up each quarter. The belief this piece changes: there is no such number. What exists is a ladder of four different counts, the industry publishes the bottom two, and the coverage that reaches the reader flattens all four into one.
The claim ladder
Each rung names whose behaviour it measures and what it does not reach.
| Rung | Claim | Measures | Does NOT reach |
|---|---|---|---|
| A (safest) | Built, shipped, installed and working are four different quantities | What company documents say, verbatim | Whether anyone is actually misled |
| B | Companies' own documents hold them apart; the coverage merges them | Document text vs press renderings of the same event | Intent, on anyone's part |
| C | Disclosure tracks legal compulsion | Three regimes observed: mandated-volume prospectus, US filing without volume mandate, no obligation | Causation, and n=3 regimes is an observation not a law |
| D (most exposed) | Nobody publishes a count of robots doing unsupervised paid work | What this pass searched on 2026-08-01 | Proof of universal absence — it is a negative claim and must be written to survive one counter-example |
Rung D is the headline and the weakest rung. It must be phrased so that a single company publishing such a number narrows it rather than falsifies the piece.
What would make it wrong
The piece is wrong, and should be corrected or pulled, if any of these hold:
Any company, filing or trade body publishes a count of humanoid robots performing unsupervised paid work. Rung D falls; the piece narrows to "almost nobody".
Agility's 24 June 2026 SEC exhibit contains a robot unit count I missed. The keystone absence fails. THIS FIRED (2026-08-01). A review found the count in Exhibit 99.2 (I had read only 99.1). The "zero counts" claim was false and is retired. The section was rewritten to the corrected and stronger finding: one disclosed count, and it is an order (1,000), with the deployed figure structured into warrants but never stated. The keystone did not fall; it moved up one rung and got sharper.
BMW's 27 Feb 2026 release states a robot count for Spartanburg. The second absence fails.
Unitree's clarification does not distinguish produced from shipped. The spine fails.
Falsifiers 2–4 are settled by opening one document each. That is the point.
The evidence, row by row
Each row is a claim the essay makes, then the evidence recorded for it and the source it was checked against. For verified rows that is usually the exact words, where they sit and the day they were read. The label says how far it was checked.
What the labels mean
- Verified
- Checked against the primary source itself by a checker who did not draft the piece, usually with the exact words, where they sit and the date read.
- Executed
- A run or observation done for the piece: code, a query, a count, or a check made live in an app. The claim is what it returned. Run records are not published.
- Checked
- Checked against its source by a separate checker in the older ledger format, which recorded no quote, locator or date.
- Reported
- Not verified word for word against a primary source: carried from a secondary source, from one that could not be opened in full, or supported only in part. The essay words it accordingly.
- Struck
- Drafted, checked and removed before publication. Kept here, crossed out, with the reason.
- Excluded
- Considered and deliberately left out of the piece. Kept here with the reason.
Sources (7)
- Unitree Robotics 5 rows
- SEC Form 425 9 rows
- BMW Group press release 4 rows
- AGIBOT press release via PR Newswire 2 rows
- International Federation of Robotics 2 rows
- Unitree IPO prospectus 1 row
- Tesla Q2 2026 earnings materials 1 row
-
Unitree published a clarification because its 2025 shipment volume was being misreported
"many pieces of misinformation regarding our company's 2025 shipment volume have been circulating online"
Unitree Robotics, official news post · opening paragraph · shop.unitree.com
LinkReport an errorCite
Unitree Robotics, official news post, opening paragraph, https://shop.unitree.com/blogs/news/clarification-regarding-unitrees-2025-sales-data. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 1, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-1 (source read 2026-08-01). -
Unitree shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots in 2025
"Unitree's actual shipment volume of humanoid robots exceeded 5,500 units"
Unitree Robotics, 2025 sales clarification, 22 Jan 2026 · shipment figure · shop.unitree.com
LinkReport an errorCite
Unitree Robotics, 2025 sales clarification, 22 Jan 2026, shipment figure, https://shop.unitree.com/blogs/news/clarification-regarding-unitrees-2025-sales-data. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 2, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-2 (source read 2026-08-01). -
Unitree produced more than 6,500 humanoid robots in 2025, a different and larger number than it shipped
"total mass-production output of 2025 exceeded 6,500 units"
Unitree Robotics, 2025 sales clarification, 22 Jan 2026 · production figure · shop.unitree.com
LinkReport an errorCite
Unitree Robotics, 2025 sales clarification, 22 Jan 2026, production figure, https://shop.unitree.com/blogs/news/clarification-regarding-unitrees-2025-sales-data. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 3, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-3 (source read 2026-08-01). -
Unitree states its shipment figure counts delivery to end customers, and that its order volume is higher still
"quantity actually sold and delivered to end customers, not order volume; the order volume is higher"
Unitree Robotics, 2025 sales clarification, 22 Jan 2026 · definition note · shop.unitree.com
LinkReport an errorCite
Unitree Robotics, 2025 sales clarification, 22 Jan 2026, definition note, https://shop.unitree.com/blogs/news/clarification-regarding-unitrees-2025-sales-data. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 4, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-4 (source read 2026-08-01). -
Unitree warns against adding different robot types together
"directly combining the numbers of different types of robots together for comparison"
Unitree Robotics, 2025 sales clarification, 22 Jan 2026 · closing caution · shop.unitree.com
LinkReport an errorCite
Unitree Robotics, 2025 sales clarification, 22 Jan 2026, closing caution, https://shop.unitree.com/blogs/news/clarification-regarding-unitrees-2025-sales-data. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 5, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-5 (source read 2026-08-01). -
Agility Robotics announced a 2.5 billion dollar merger with Churchill Capital Corp XI
"Agility Robotics to Go Public Through $2.5 Billion Merger with Churchill Capital Corp XI"
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.1, joint press release, 24 June 2026 · headline · sec.gov
LinkReport an errorCite
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.1, joint press release, 24 June 2026, headline, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002074973/000121390026071290/ea029548401ex99-1.htm. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 6, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-6 (source read 2026-08-01). -
Agility reports 300 million dollars of contracted orders rather than a number of robots
"more than $300 million of multi-year contracted Digit v5 orders secured to date"
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.1, 24 June 2026 · highlights list · sec.gov
LinkReport an errorCite
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.1, 24 June 2026, highlights list, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002074973/000121390026071290/ea029548401ex99-1.htm. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 7, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-7 (source read 2026-08-01). -
Agility reports 9 customer facilities and 65,000 operating hours in place of a robot count
"Through deployment commitments across nine customer facilities, Digit has accumulated more than 65,000 hours of operation"
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.1, 24 June 2026 · commercial traction paragraph · sec.gov
LinkReport an errorCite
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.1, 24 June 2026, commercial traction paragraph, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002074973/000121390026071290/ea029548401ex99-1.htm. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 8, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-8 (source read 2026-08-01). -
Agility's 10,000 unit figure describes annual factory capacity, not robots made
"RoboFab, its full-scale humanoid manufacturing facility designed to support production of up to 10,000 units annually"
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.1, 24 June 2026 · manufacturing paragraph · sec.gov
LinkReport an errorCite
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.1, 24 June 2026, manufacturing paragraph, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002074973/000121390026071290/ea029548401ex99-1.htm. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 9, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-9 (source read 2026-08-01). -
Agility's press-release exhibit carries no robot unit count; the count sits in the companion investor-presentation exhibit of the same filing
"more than $300 million of multi-year contracted Digit v5 orders secured to date"
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.1 (press release), 24 June 2026; parsed in full, no unit count present · whole press release, six pages · sec.gov
LinkReport an errorCite
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.1 (press release), 24 June 2026; parsed in full, no unit count present, whole press release, six pages, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002074973/000121390026071290/ea029548401ex99-1.htm. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 10, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-10 (source read 2026-08-01). -
Agility's investor presentation discloses one robot count, 1,000, and defines it as customer ORDERS not built/shipped/installed units
"Reflects customer orders for Digit v5, as of May 2026 … and relates to 1,000 Digit v5 robots with three-year term RaaS contract"
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.2 (Investor Presentation, June 2026), same 8-K accession 000121390026071290 · footnote (1) to the orders figure · sec.gov
LinkReport an errorCite
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.2 (Investor Presentation, June 2026), same 8-K accession 000121390026071290, footnote (1) to the orders figure, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002074973/000121390026071290/ea029548401ex99-2.htm. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 11, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-11 (source read 2026-08-01). -
The same RaaS contract ties buyer warrants to robots DEPLOYED, treating deployment as a separate event from the order and giving it no number
"includes warrants issued to purchaser vesting proportionately to robots deployed; figures are not a measure of current period revenue"
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.2 (Investor Presentation, June 2026) · footnote (1) to the orders figure · sec.gov
LinkReport an errorCite
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.2 (Investor Presentation, June 2026), footnote (1) to the orders figure, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002074973/000121390026071290/ea029548401ex99-2.htm. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 12, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-12 (source read 2026-08-01). -
Agility's presentation says its robots are currently deployed in customer facilities but gives no deployed count; its unit-scale numbers are production scenarios and an illustrative chart
"currently deployed in customer facilities"
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.2 (Investor Presentation, June 2026) · metrics slide; the "1k/5k/10k units/yr" cost curve and the "installed base" revenue chart are marked "for illustrative purposes only" · sec.gov
LinkReport an errorCite
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.2 (Investor Presentation, June 2026), metrics slide; the "1k/5k/10k units/yr" cost curve and the "installed base" revenue chart are marked "for illustrative purposes only", https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0002074973/000121390026071290/ea029548401ex99-2.htm. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 13, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-13 (source read 2026-08-01). -
BMW says the Spartanburg robot moved more than 90,000 components over about 1,250 operating hours
"In total, it moved more than 90,000 components and covered approximately 1.2 million steps in around 1,250 operating hours"
BMW Group press release, 27 Feb 2026 · Spartanburg results · press.bmwgroup.com
LinkReport an errorCite
BMW Group press release, 27 Feb 2026, Spartanburg results, https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0455864EN/bmw-group-to-deploy-humanoid-robots-in-production-in-germany-for-the-first-time?language=en. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 14, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-14 (source read 2026-08-01). -
BMW says that within ten months the robot supported production of more than 30,000 X3 vehicles (secondary coverage's "eleven months" is not BMW's own figure)
"Within ten months, the robot Figure 02 supported the production of more than 30,000 BMW X3, working ten-hour shifts daily from Monday to Friday"
BMW Group press release, 27 Feb 2026 · Spartanburg results · press.bmwgroup.com
LinkReport an errorCite
BMW Group press release, 27 Feb 2026, Spartanburg results, https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0455864EN/bmw-group-to-deploy-humanoid-robots-in-production-in-germany-for-the-first-time?language=en. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 15, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-15 (source read 2026-08-01). -
BMW's release refers to the robot in the singular and never states how many robots were at Spartanburg
"the robot Figure 02 supported the production of more than 30,000 BMW X3"
BMW Group press release, 27 Feb 2026; whole release checked for a unit count, none present · whole release · press.bmwgroup.com
LinkReport an errorCite
BMW Group press release, 27 Feb 2026; whole release checked for a unit count, none present, whole release, https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0455864EN/bmw-group-to-deploy-humanoid-robots-in-production-in-germany-for-the-first-time?language=en. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 16, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-16 (source read 2026-08-01). -
Agility's revenue chart scales an installed base from 2,500 to 15,000 Digit v5 and marks itself illustrative
"$0 $250 $500 $750 $1,000 $1,250 $1,500 2,500 5,000 7,500 10,000 12,500 15,000 Illustrative annual RaaS revenue(1) … Installed base (total # of Digit v5 deployed)(2)" with note "(2) For illustrative purposes only."
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.2 (Investor Presentation, June 2026) · unit-economics slide, installed-base axis · sec.gov
LinkReport an errorCite
SEC Form 425, Exhibit 99.2 (Investor Presentation, June 2026), unit-economics slide, installed-base axis, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2074973/000121390026071290/ea029548401ex99-2.htm. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 17, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-17 (source read 2026-08-01). -
BMW announces a next pilot at Leipzig in high-voltage battery assembly, again describing a humanoid robot in the singular and giving no unit count
"The deployment in Leipzig is focusing on testing a multifunctional application of the robot" in the "assembly of high-voltage batteries and in component manufacturing"
BMW Group press release, 27 Feb 2026 · Leipzig section · press.bmwgroup.com
LinkReport an errorCite
BMW Group press release, 27 Feb 2026, Leipzig section, https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0455864EN/bmw-group-to-deploy-humanoid-robots-in-production-in-germany-for-the-first-time?language=en. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 18, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-18 (source read 2026-08-01). -
AGIBOT announced its 10,000th humanoid robot as a production milestone
"announced the rollout of its 10,000th humanoid robot"
AGIBOT press release via PR Newswire, 30 Mar 2026 · opening · prnewswire.com
LinkReport an errorCite
AGIBOT press release via PR Newswire, 30 Mar 2026, opening, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/agibot-reaches-10-000-units-as-real-world-demand-for-robots-accelerates-302728295.html. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 19, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-19 (source read 2026-08-01). -
AGIBOT gives no number for how many of the 10,000 are in real-world use, only an adjective
"Of the 10,000 humanoid robots produced, a significant portion is already active in real-world environments"
AGIBOT press release via PR Newswire, 30 Mar 2026 · deployment paragraph · prnewswire.com
LinkReport an errorCite
AGIBOT press release via PR Newswire, 30 Mar 2026, deployment paragraph, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/agibot-reaches-10-000-units-as-real-world-demand-for-robots-accelerates-302728295.html. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 20, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-20 (source read 2026-08-01). -
IFR counts 542,000 industrial robots installed in 2024
"542,000 robots installed in 2024"
International Federation of Robotics, World Robotics 2025 press release · installations figure · ifr.org
LinkReport an errorCite
International Federation of Robotics, World Robotics 2025 press release, installations figure, https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/global-robot-demand-in-factories-doubles-over-10-years. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 21, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-21 (source read 2026-08-01). -
IFR separately counts 4,664,000 industrial robots in operational stock, a different number from installations
"The total number of industrial robots in operational use worldwide was 4,664,000 units in 2024"
International Federation of Robotics, World Robotics 2025 press release · operational stock figure · ifr.org
LinkReport an errorCite
International Federation of Robotics, World Robotics 2025 press release, operational stock figure, https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/global-robot-demand-in-factories-doubles-over-10-years. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 22, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-22 (source read 2026-08-01). -
Unitree's prospectus shows about 9 percent of humanoid robot revenue came from real industrial applications, with about 74 percent from research and education
"scientific research and education accounted for 73.6% of humanoid robot revenue, commercial consumption accounted for 17.39%, and real industrial applications only accounted for 9%"
Unitree IPO prospectus, reported by TechFlow and corroborated by a second outlet; prospectus itself not opened · prospectus revenue split, first three quarters of 2025 · techflowpost.com
LinkReport an errorCite
Unitree IPO prospectus, reported by TechFlow and corroborated by a second outlet; prospectus itself not opened, prospectus revenue split, first three quarters of 2025, https://www.techflowpost.com/en-US/article/31730. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 23, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-23 (source read 2026-08-01). -
Tesla has disclosed no Optimus production unit count, and says initial units are for internal data collection rather than customers
"training data collection and further functionality development"
Tesla Q2 2026 earnings materials, as reported; Tesla's own deck not opened directly · Optimus outlook · techtimes.com
LinkReport an errorCite
Tesla Q2 2026 earnings materials, as reported; Tesla's own deck not opened directly, Optimus outlook, https://www.techtimes.com/articles/321012/20260720/tesla-optimus-production-count-remains-zero-q2-earnings-call-looms-wednesday.htm. Checked in: Claim Ledger, "Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot", The Durability Curve, row 24, https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/#c-24 (source read 2026-08-01).
No rows match. Clear the search or pick another label.
Removed before publication
Claims that were drafted, checked and taken out, or considered and left out. The essay does not make them; they stay here with the reason.
- 25 Excluded
Two robots at BMW SpartanburgWhy: Secondary sources only. BMW's own release uses the singular and gives no count. Writing it would commit the error the piece prosecutes.
- 26 Excluded
Figure has ~740 robots deployedWhy: The primary (Adcock, X, 20 June 2026) returned HTTP 402 and could not be opened. The wording that circulates describes Figure's own premises, not customer deployments. Excluded from the prose entirely — do not reintroduce it as "high hundreds" either.
- 27 Excluded
Agility discloses zero robot countsWhy: FALSE, corrected 2026-08-01 after a review. The press-release exhibit has none, but the investor-presentation exhibit of the same filing discloses 1,000 (as orders). Original draft asserted zero because only Exhibit 99.1 was read.
- 28 Excluded
About 3 to 4 percent of humanoid shipments do operational workWhy: TechFlow's own derivation from the 9 percent industrial share, not a prospectus disclosure. Excluded as a derived number presented as a disclosed one.
- 29 Excluded
5,500 shipped implies ~495 industrial unitsWhy: Cross-basis: 9 percent is a revenue share over three quarters, 5,500 is an annual unit count. Multiplying them is the error the piece is about.
Cite and reuse
- A single claim
- Use the row's Cite button. It names the original source first, then this row, which carries its own link.
- This ledger
Floyd, Harry (2026). Claim Ledger: Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot. The Durability Curve. https://durabilitycurve.com/claims/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/- The essay
Floyd, Harry (2026). Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot. The Durability Curve. https://durabilitycurve.com/blog/your-robot-coworker-is-still-a-pilot/
The ledger data is licensed CC BY 4.0: reuse it, quote it or train on it, with credit to The Durability Curve and a link. Read the licence. Machine copies: JSON, CSV, Markdown.