CNBC AI News – August 8 – Elon Musk has reportedly ordered the shutdown of Tesla’s Dojo project, a bold in-house attempt to develop cutting-edge AI capabilities, according to sources familiar with the matter. Peter Bannon, the head of the Dojo team, is expected to depart the company.
This strategic pivot signals a possible shift for Tesla towards greater reliance on external technology partnerships for its advanced computing needs.
Tesla is reportedly planning to enhance collaborations with Nvidia and AMD in the realm of computing, while simultaneously forging a deepened partnership with Samsung Electronics in chip manufacturing.
Last month, Tesla inked a significant $16.5 billion deal with Samsung, securing a steady supply of AI semiconductors through 2033, ensuring a consistent pipeline for its rapidly evolving AI requirements.
Under the agreement, Samsung’s new facility in Texas will reportedly be dedicated to the production of Tesla’s next-generation AI6 chip. Meanwhile, TSMC is slated to manufacture the AI5 chip, which has recently completed its design phase.
According to Musk’s previous statements, Tesla’s arrangement involves Samsung currently producing the AI4 chip, with their Texas facility then transitioning to specialize in the AI6, while TSMC will handle the production of the newly designed AI5.
Furthermore, recent reports suggest Tesla is planning a major overhaul of the Dojo supercomputer’s supply chain. This involves moving away from a TSMC-exclusive model to a more diversified approach, engaging both Samsung and Intel. Samsung would handle the front-end manufacturing of the Dojo 3 system chips, with Intel taking charge of the module packaging.
It’s worth noting that Musk has hinted at this strategic redirection previously.
During Tesla’s earnings call two weeks ago, Musk stated that future iterations of the company’s in-house technology may well find a convergence point with those of its partners. “With Dojo 3 and the AI6 inference chip, intuitively, we want to find the convergence point, basically using the same chips,” he explained, suggesting a unified approach to their technology strategy.
Adding context, this past January, Musk had also stated, “We are pursuing Nvidia and Dojo, a dual-path strategy. But I think Dojo is a long-term project. It’s a long-term investment that’s worth trying because the potential payoff is very high.”
Dating back to last year, Musk openly acknowledged the possibility that Tesla may not perpetually pursue the Dojo project autonomously, instead increasingly leaning on external partners for its AI infrastructure.
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