Tesla has agreed to sign a contract of $16.5 billion with Samsung for its next-generation semiconductors AI chips.
Elon Musk posted on X late Sunday evening:
“Samsung’s giant new Texas fab will be dedicated to making Tesla’s next-generation AI6 chip. The strategic importance of this is hard to overstate.”
The company’s wager on an all-in-one chip design is Tesla’s AI6 (also known as Hardware 6) chip, which can power anything from the company’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) driving assistance system to its Optimus humanoid robots to high-performance AI training in data centers.
Musk mentioned that TSMC, which recently completed the design, is collaborating with Tesla to produce AI5 chips. In addition, the A15, a generation that is primarily built for FSD. will initially be created in TSMC’s Taiwan factory and eventually at its Arizona location. Musk claims that Samsung already produces the A14 processor.
The agreement helps Samsung, which had trouble launching its chip-making initiative after failing to draw in and keep big customers. Furthermore, Musk stated in another post that Tesla may wind up paying more than $16.5 billion on Samsung semiconductors.
Musk said:
“Actual output is likely to be several times higher”.
Additionally, Musk claimed in a subsequent article that Samsung had consented to let Tesla help maximize manufacturing efficiency.
He wrote about it:
“This is a critical point, as I will walk the line personally to accelerate the pace of progress. And the fab is conveniently located not far from my house”.
In 2019, Tesla moved from using Nvidia’s Drive platform to using its own proprietary processor. In all of its EVs that year, that chip—also referred to as the FSD chip or Hardware 3—was introduced. Since then, as the company’s goals have grown, so too has its focus on its custom chips. The AI processors are the focus of Tesla’s drive to transition from an automaker to an AI and robotics firm.
