If what they have is a 100% totipotent cell, what they have is a Day 1 embryo. There’s no advantage here over using IVF embryos -— except that they won’t have to hyperovulate females to get more “raw material”: for which I will give a quarter of a hooray.
Well, there’s a big advantage in that they can produce genetically matched cells, and thus treatments that don’t require the patient to take anti-rejection drugs (which don’t always work) for the rest of their lives. THAT is what they’re so excited about, and with good reason.
“If what they have is a 100% totipotent cell, what they have is a Day 1 embryo”
A fertilized egg is considered totipotent, meaning that its potential is total; it gives rise to all the different types of cells in the body. You are right in your understanding of the word totipotent, but there is no way to obtain totally totipotent cells without an embryo.
The cells that are being created here must be pluripotent, meaning they can create any kind of cell in the body, except those that create a fetus. An egg is still necessary to create an embryo or a fetus, and God help us if that ever changes.