Humanoid robot falls over while standing still at tech show
XPeng's Iron humanoid robot wowed the crowd in Shenzhen by walking across the stage—then surprised everyone by falling over while standing still.
A quick-thinking staff member helped soften the landing, and Iron was quietly taken backstage for some tweaks.
Iron returned the next day, but didn't walk
XPeng's CEO compared the mishap to toddlers figuring out their first steps, saying, "After a fall, they will stand firm; the next step is to begin running, and to keep running."
The next day, Iron was back—chatting with people (but not walking), safely strapped into a frame.
Despite the memes, XPeng is still on track to mass
Clips of Iron's fall exploded online, sparking jokes and finally settling rumors that it might just be a person in disguise.
Despite all the memes, XPeng isn't slowing down—they still plan to mass-produce Iron in 2026.