Can I Buy A Butler Yet?

No.
Last checked: March 25, 2026 (evening)

๐Ÿค The Bet

A friendly father-son wager on the future of home robotics.

The Proposition: A general-purpose home robot butler will be available for purchase in the US by January 1, 2027 for $40,000 or less. The robot must be able to take out the trash and do the dishes.

โœ… Win Conditions

โœ—
Available for purchase in the US
โœ—
Price โ‰ค $40,000
โœ—
Can take out the trash
โœ—
Can do the dishes

As judged by Mom <3

๐Ÿค– Robot Tracker

๐Ÿ† Current Frontrunner
NEO
1X Technologies ยท Norway/USA
๐Ÿ’ฐ $20,000 (or $499/mo rental) ๐Ÿ“… US deliveries 2026 (commercial 2027)
The only humanoid you can actually preorder right now ($200 deposit). Purpose-built for home chores โ€” automates tasks from a list on a schedule. Soft, quiet, tendon-driven at just 30kg. At $20K it's well under the $40K threshold. 1X confirmed 2026 home deliveries are happening. The question is whether it ships in time and can handle dishes + trash reliably.
Preorder
Optimus Gen 3
Tesla ยท USA
๐Ÿ’ฐ ~$25,000 (target) ๐Ÿ“… Factory use 2026, consumer TBD
Gen 3 prototype early 2026, building 1M-unit production line. First external B2B customers late 2026 at premium pricing (>$100K). Consumer pricing below $20K requires multi-million volume โ€” likely 2028+. Won't win this bet but the biggest long-term threat.
Not For Sale
R1
Unitree Robotics ยท China
๐Ÿ’ฐ ~$4,900 ๐Ÿ“… Ships April 2026
Incredibly cheap at under $5K, but it's a dev/research platform โ€” not household-ready. Unitree planning a cheaper household humanoid with a target of 2030.
Announced
G1
Unitree Robotics ยท China
๐Ÿ’ฐ $44,000โ€“$74,000 ๐Ÿ“… Shipping to early adopters
4'2" tall humanoid โ€” shipping but priced above the $40K bet threshold. Unclear if it can handle real household chores.
Shipping
Figure 03
Figure AI ยท USA
๐Ÿ’ฐ Not disclosed ๐Ÿ“… Industrial pilots only
Best AI brain in the game โ€” completed 11-month BMW pilot, understands natural language via proprietary "Helix" model. Impressive chore demos (cleaning, tidying) but lease price $30K-$150K, no consumer purchase option.
Not For Sale
A2
Agibot ยท China
๐Ÿ’ฐ ~$20,000 ๐Ÿ“… 1,000+ produced
Guinness record holder โ€” walked 66 miles continuously on hot-swappable batteries. Real manufacturing volume but industrial focus for now.
Announced
Electric Atlas
Boston Dynamics ยท USA
๐Ÿ’ฐ Not disclosed ๐Ÿ“… Industrial focus
360ยฐ joint rotation and superhuman movement โ€” but targeting dangerous industrial jobs, not your kitchen.
Not For Sale
Iron
XPeng ยท China
๐Ÿ’ฐ Not disclosed ๐Ÿ“… Customer service roles first
Viral "catwalk" gait so realistic people thought it was a human in a suit. Targeting hospitality/retail before homes.
Announced
ASIMO / Next Gen
Honda ยท Japan
๐Ÿ’ฐ Not disclosed ๐Ÿ“… R&D phase
The OG humanoid robot company โ€” retired ASIMO but continues R&D with their Avatar robot program. No consumer product announced.
Not For Sale
Bajie
Ecovacs ยท China
๐Ÿ’ฐ Not disclosed ๐Ÿ“… Prototype demo (Mar 2026)
Wheeled base with robotic arm, powered by OpenClaw. Demoed tidying shoes and toys at Shanghai expo. Not humanoid (no legs), but targeting household chores directly. No price or release date yet.
Announced
Sunday Home Robot
Sunday Inc ยท USA
๐Ÿ’ฐ Not disclosed ๐Ÿ“… No release date
Just raised $165M at $1.15B valuation (Mar 2026). Targeting dishes, laundry, table clearing. No pricing or shipping date announced โ€” still in prototyping phase.
Announced
Sprout
Fauna Robotics (Amazon) ยท USA
๐Ÿ’ฐ $50,000 ๐Ÿ“… Early 2026
Amazon-acquired startup. Bipedal but small (42" tall, 50 lbs). At $50K it's over the bet threshold. Interesting as an Amazon play into home robotics.
Over Budget
Isaac 0
Weave Robotics ยท USA
๐Ÿ’ฐ $7,999 ๐Ÿ“… Shipping (SF Bay Area)
Stationary laundry-folding robot at $8K โ€” ships to SF Bay Area now. Not a humanoid and can't do dishes or trash, but it's a real home robot doing real chores today. Powered by Physical Intelligence ฯ€0.6.
Shipping

A friendly wager, tracked by a robot ๐Ÿค–

Updated daily by Nyx โœจ ยท Last updated March 25, 2026