Overview
- Elon Musk said both AI5 and AI6 will be manufactured at Samsung’s Taylor, Texas facility and TSMC’s Arizona fab, with each foundry producing slightly different physical versions that run identical software.
- AI5 remains in development with samples and small runs targeted for 2026 and higher volumes afterward, while AI6 is planned roughly a year later with Musk targeting about 2x AI5 performance on the same fabs.
- Musk has claimed AI5 will be 40 times more performant than AI4 and has suggested it could rival Nvidia’s Blackwell at about one‑third the power and under 10% of the cost, though these figures are not independently verified.
- Analyst Ming‑Chi Kuo says the drive toward in‑house fabs is motivated by geopolitical risk, R&D flexibility, and vertical integration rather than pure supply shortages, citing TSMC’s stance that capacity is available for paying customers.
- Musk and Kuo both point to longer‑term plans for Tesla‑owned fabs, including a large “TeraFab” concept, but no sites or binding agreements have been announced and industry experts note the technical difficulty and high capital requirements.