The 5,000-unit order for Tesla's robots has been finalized, and the factory audit is imminent.

News on September 17 shows that Tesla has recently issued a new order of about 5,000 units to its suppliers, which is the first mass production order at the thousand-unit level following the previous trial production orders of several hundred units.

In addition, Tesla is accelerating the factory audit of the Optimus humanoid robot supply chain in China, visiting suppliers in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Xiamen and other regions. The dual signals of factory audit and order mark that Optimus has officially moved from the engineering prototype stage to the replicable manufacturing stage. Industry insiders believe that Tesla's visit to Chinese suppliers further confirms the acceleration of its mass production rhythm.

The signal is clear, and the next question is: who is receiving the orders?

A counter-intuitive phenomenon is that almost all Chinese enterprises undertaking the mass production of Optimus are not new players in the robot industry, and most of them started from traditional home appliance and mechanical manufacturing. It was not until the robot industry developed that people found that they had been manufacturing these robot parts in advance for decades.

Sanhua Intelligent Control that manufactures air conditioner parts, Tuopu Group that produces automobile chassis, Xinjian Transmission that focuses on precision transmission... are now included in the same list by Shanghai Securities News and 21st Century Business Herald: the Chinese supply chain of Tesla's humanoid robot Optimus.

Looking upstream along the cooperative relationships of these companies, we can also find manufacturers of bearings, reducers and precision parts; consumer electronics enterprises are also entering the robot module and complete machine assembly links with their original manufacturing capabilities.

This article takes stock of 12 related enterprises, covering Tesla supply chain companies reported by the media, upstream manufacturers cooperating with them, and enterprises that are deploying related products. The robot businesses of various companies cover different customers, and the business data in the text follows the original disclosure scope. "North American customer" does not directly refer to Tesla. This map presents specific cooperation and industrial layout, and the enterprises on the list are in different participation stages.

01 Sanhua Intelligent Control: Moving from Thermal Management to Robot Actuators

The original business of Sanhua Intelligent Control centers on refrigeration and air-conditioning parts and automotive thermal management. After entering the robot field, its key invested product is the electromechanical actuator, which is the core component that enables the robot joint to generate motion.

The market attention around Sanhua once focused on the order amount. In October 2025, the news that Tesla issued a robot order of about 5 billion yuan to it was widely spread, and Sanhua later issued an announcement to clarify that the rumor of obtaining a large robot order was not true.

The business progress of the company can be seen more clearly from the timeline of product development. In the first half of 2025, Sanhua disclosed that it cooperated with customers in product R&D, trial production, iteration and sample delivery; by August 2026, the core products have been advanced to batch delivery and production line ramp-up. Robot electromechanical actuators have entered the stage of delivery and production expansion.

02 Tuopu Group: Developing from Linear Actuators to Dexterous Hand Motors

Tuopu Group has a clear technical extension path to enter the robot field. The company has been developing wire-controlled brake systems for many years, accumulating experience in machinery, motors, deceleration mechanisms, electronic control and software, and then applying these capabilities to robot electric drive actuators.

Its cooperation with customers started from linear actuators, then expanded to rotary actuators, and then to dexterous hand motors. The 2026 semi-annual report disclosed that these three types of products have entered the small-batch delivery stage.

The product range of Tuopu is still expanding. Products such as body structural parts, foot shock absorbers, and electronic flexible skin are also simultaneously promoting the construction of mass production capacity. From joint drive to hand motors, and then to body structure, Tuopu is applying the capabilities accumulated in the automotive parts business to multiple robot components.

03 Xinjian Transmission: One Ball Screw Connects More Enterprises

Compared with Sanhua and Tuopu, Xinjian Transmission has lower public popularity, but it is an indispensable company when understanding this supply chain. It was founded in 1999, has long been engaged in precision transmission business, and the planetary roller screw is its important product to enter the humanoid robot field. 21st Century Business Herald once called it the core supplier of Tesla's humanoid robot.

In 2026, Xinjian Transmission's GEM IPO application was accepted, and more business information was subsequently disclosed. According to the sorting of its prospectus by Jiemian News, in 2025, the company's revenue from the humanoid robot field was about 31.11 million yuan, accounting for 8.19% of the total operating revenue; robot customers are disclosed with letters such as A and B as aliases.

Around the screw products, Xinjian has also carried out supporting cooperation with upstream enterprises such as Wuzhou Xinchun. The robot business has begun to contribute revenue, and the related parts manufacturing demand has also been transmitted to more enterprises along the cooperative relationship.

04 Wuzhou Xinchun: There Are Also Suppliers Behind Core Suppliers

The clearest connection between Wuzhou Xinchun and this industrial chain is Xinjian Transmission.

In March 2025, the two parties signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement, involving supporting products such as planetary roller screws and micro ball screws, covering components and assemblies such as planetary rollers and nut sleeves. The original bearing and precision processing business of Wuzhou Xinchun has thus extended to the robot transmission link.

This framework agreement specifies the cooperation to the internal parts of the screw. The position of Wuzhou Xinchun is to provide supporting services for precision transmission manufacturers, so that the original bearing and parts manufacturing business can enter the division of labor of the robot transmission system.

05 Eson Precision: Extending from Precision Components to Complete Machine Assembly

Eson Precision brings another kind of manufacturing experience. The company has long been engaged in precision manufacturing, with business covering consumer electronics, new energy and other fields, and robots have added new parts demand for it.

The relevant disclosure in the 2026 semi-annual report shows that Eson Precision delivered a total of about 860,000 precision components in the humanoid robot business in the first half of the year. Its overseas business continues to cooperate with leading North American robot customers in product development and delivery.

Complete machine assembly is another new progress. Eson has taken over the complete machine assembly order of humanoid robots, which is expected to be delivered successively in the second half of the year. The company's work scope continues to extend from precision parts manufacturing to complete machine assembly, and the manufacturing experience accumulated in the consumer electronics industry also has new application scenarios.

06 Lens Technology: Entering North American Customers Through Head Modules

Lens Technology also brings the manufacturing capabilities accumulated in the consumer electronics field to the robot business. Its product layout covers head modules, joint modules, dexterous hands, structural parts, and complete machine assembly.

On January 14, 2026, Lens disclosed on the investor interaction platform that it has become the first batch of core suppliers of leading North American robot customers, the head module has passed the customer certification, and structural parts were still under certification at that time. The company also stated that it has delivered complete machines and related components in batches to many robot customers at home and abroad.

The head module is a specific progress of Lens' cooperation with the aforementioned North American customers. In other customer businesses, complete machines and components have begun to be delivered in batches. From module development to complete machine assembly, Lens' original consumer electronics manufacturing business is extending to robot products.

07 Xusheng Group: Applying Lightweight Technology to Robots

The main accumulation of Xusheng Group lies in lightweight manufacturing. Compared with the actuators responsible for driving, the products it provides to the robot industry are closer to joint shells, torso structural parts and skeletons that carry various components.

The company previously disclosed that it has carried out cooperation with many humanoid robot customers at home and abroad, and has obtained project approvals. In February 2026, Thai media, citing information from the local Board of Investment, included Xusheng in the list of Chinese enterprises approved to build humanoid robot parts production bases, and the project products include robot body, joint and skeleton components.

According to the aforementioned Thai report, the target market of the project includes Tesla Bot and others. Xusheng applies automotive lightweight technology to the robot body structure, and arranges manufacturing capabilities for related products through the layout of overseas production bases.

08 Zhejiang Rongtai: Entering Precision Transmission Through Acquisition

Zhejiang Rongtai was originally mainly engaged in high-temperature resistant insulating mica products, and its products are applied in new energy vehicles and other fields. A key move for it to enter the field of robot precision transmission is the acquisition of Dizi Precision in 2025, which deploys products such as ball screws and planetary roller screws.

In September of the same year, in response to the market news about the Tesla robot supplier conference call, Zhejiang Rongtai responded that it had cooperative exchanges with Tesla, and there were no major matters that should be disclosed but not disclosed.

This acquisition has added precision transmission business to Zhejiang Rongtai. Mica products and screws belong to different parts fields, so the company has begun to participate in the development of robot mechanical transmission components in addition to its original insulating material business.

09 Beite Technology: Deploying Screws Around Joints and Dexterous Hands

Beite Technology's robot layout also revolves around screws. The 2026 semi-annual report disclosed that the company continues to cooperate with customers in the development of planetary roller screws, ball screws, trapezoidal screws and other products, including micro products and related parts, and the application directions involve robot limb joint actuators, dexterous hands and so on.

This business is currently mainly in the stage of product development and production preparation. The company said that it has the basic conditions for large-scale mass production, and the actual mass production rhythm needs to be promoted with the downstream technical solutions and demands. The screw products have not yet had a significant impact on the company's performance.

The product portfolio deployed by Beite involves both limb joints and dexterous hands. Its development around different screws and micro products also reflects that the robot transmission demand is being subdivided into parts of different positions and different sizes.

10 GreenHarmony: A Reducer Enterprise Cooperating with Sanhua

The product of GreenHarmony is the harmonic reducer. An important clue for the discussion of its connection with Tesla's robot supply chain comes from the cooperation with Sanhua Intelligent Control.

In April 2023, the company announced that it signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Sanhua, and the two parties plan to jointly fund the establishment of a joint venture in Sanhua Mexico Industrial Park to carry out harmonic reducer related businesses.

This proposed cooperation connects the reducer manufacturer and the actuator manufacturer, and the location is selected in Sanhua's overseas industrial park. Similar to the cooperation between Wuzhou Xinchun and Xinjian, it presents the supporting relationship between robot parts enterprises, and also involves the arrangement of overseas production by both parties.

11 MOONS' Electric: Aiming at the Motor Demand of Dexterous Hands and Joints

MOONS' Electric's products in the humanoid robot field focus on the motion control link.

At the performance briefing on September 4, 2026, the company introduced that the dexterous hand direction is mainly brushless slotless motors, including coreless motors, and at the same time has the comprehensive solution capability of micro servos, encoders and micro transmission components; the joint direction deploys frameless motors and integrated joint modules.

This business is still in the stage of market expansion, and MOONS' is actively docking with domestic and foreign dexterous hand and robot complete machine enterprises. From the perspective of product portfolio, the company combines motors with encoders and micro transmission components, hoping to undertake more supporting work in the motion control of hands and joints.

12 Hengli Hydraulic: Expanding from Hydraulic Transmission to Electric Transmission

The traditional products of Hengli Hydraulic include oil cylinders, pump valves and hydraulic systems. After entering the electric business, its product range has expanded to precision screws, linear guides and electric cylinders, making it an enterprise often mentioned in the market discussion of robot transmission supply chain.

The 2026 semi-annual report lists the linear drive project as the core business layout of the company's electrification strategy, and related products are oriented to multiple downstream markets. In this robot industry map, Hengli belongs to the enterprise that deploys precision transmission products, and its change is first reflected in the product category: in addition to the original hydraulic transmission business, the company has begun to add electric transmission products.

The layouts of these enterprises have extended to overseas factories. Thai media reported in February 2026 that the robot parts projects of Chinese enterprises such as Xinjian, Sanhua, Tuopu and Xusheng have been approved, and the products cover actuators, precision transmission and structural components, with target markets including Tesla Bot. The scope of participation of Chinese enterprises has further extended from parts development to transnational production supporting.

The original businesses of these companies are different, and their paths to enter the robot industry are also different. Auto parts enterprises cut in from actuators and structural parts, consumer electronics manufacturers extend to modules and complete machine assembly, and precision manufacturing enterprises carry out supporting services around screws, reducers and motors. The Chinese enterprises that have attracted attention around Optimus are applying their existing manufacturing capabilities to robots.