Musk says Tesla’s mega AI chip fab project to launch in 7 days

AI Summary

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company's Terafab project to manufacture AI chips will launch within seven days. Tesla is developing its fifth-generation AI chip to power autonomous driving systems including Full Self-Driving, and is partnering with TSMC and Samsung for chip production. The project reflects Tesla's conclusion that existing chip supply from external suppliers will be insufficient to meet its autonomous vehicle ambitions.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Saturday that the company’s Terafab project to make artificial intelligence (AI) chips will launch in seven days. Musk had said last year that Tesla probably will have to build “a gigantic chip fab” to make AI chips. Tesla is designing its fifth-generation AI chip to power its autonomous ambitions, and Musk at the company’s annual meeting last year laid out potential manufacturing plans. Musk had said at the time that the EV maker could work with Intel and said, “You know, maybe we’ll, we’ll do something with Intel.” “We haven’t signed any deal, but it’s probably worth having discussions with Intel,” he had said. Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request seeking more details about the project. Musk has teased the AI5 chip before and reiterated that Tesla was also partnering with Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung. The AI chips power Tesla’s autonomous driving systems, including the Full Self-Driving software. “Even when we extrapolate the best-case scenario for chip production from our suppliers, it’s still not enough,” Musk said last year, at Tesla’s AGM. “So I think we may have to do a Tesla terafab. It’s like giga but way bigger. I can’t see any other way to get to the volume of chips that we’re looking for. So I think we’re probably going to have to build a gigantic chip fab. It’s got to be done,” he said.