Abandoning In-House AI Chips, Strengthening External Partnerships
Focusing Resources on Core Businesses Like Autonomous Vehicles
Production of Samsung AI6 Chips Planned Through 2033
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has officially disbanded the team responsible for the company’s in-house supercomputer, Dojo. This move is seen as a signal of Musk’s intention to abandon Tesla’s proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) chip development and instead strengthen collaboration with external chip partners such as Samsung Electronics, thereby focusing the company’s full capabilities on core businesses like autonomous vehicles.
On this day, CEO Musk stated on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), “The moment it became clear that all paths converge to AI6, we decided to end Dojo and had to make some tough personnel decisions,” adding, “Dojo 2 has now become an evolutionary dead end.” He continued, “Dojo 3 will likely survive in the form of multiple AI6 systems-on-chip (SoC) mounted on a single board.”
Tesla first unveiled Dojo and its proprietary AI chip, the D1 chip, in August 2021. Billions of dollars were invested in this project, which aimed to build a custom supercomputer for training machine learning models used in Autopilot, Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems, and the humanoid robot Optimus. CEO Musk envisioned Dojo as the “core foundation” for Tesla’s autonomous driving and aimed to establish an independent supply chain. However, the Dojo project faced difficulties, including multiple changes in leadership during its course.
Bloomberg News assessed that this decision marks a major turning point in Tesla’s autonomous driving technology development strategy. By abandoning the in-house AI chip production approach and collaborating with external chip partners such as Samsung Electronics and computing technology companies like Nvidia and AMD, Tesla aims to accelerate progress in its main business.
Tesla plans to manufacture next-generation AI6 chips with Samsung Electronics at its Taylor, Texas plant through 2033. At the end of last month, CEO Musk announced that the company had signed a semiconductor supply contract with Samsung Electronics worth $16.5 billion (approximately 22.88 trillion won). These chips are expected to be used in Tesla’s autonomous vehicles, humanoid robots, and data centers. CEO Musk also emphasized that “$16.5 billion is a minimum figure,” raising expectations that the actual amount could be several times larger.
This strategic shift is also closely tied to Tesla’s current challenges. As of the close on the 11th, Tesla’s stock price stood at $339.03, up 2.84% from the previous day, but it has fallen by more than 10% since the beginning of the year.
IT media outlet TechCrunch noted, “Tesla is experiencing significant brand value erosion due to declining electric vehicle sales and CEO Musk’s political activities,” adding, “Although the pilot robo-taxi service launched in Austin, Texas in June resulted in many driving errors, CEO Musk is still trying to convince investors that the autonomous driving sector remains promising.”
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