Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Musk Floats Intel Talks as Tesla Weighs 'TeraFab' to Meet AI Chip Demand

Musk says existing suppliers cannot meet Tesla’s projected AI chip needs.

Overview

  • Elon Musk told shareholders Tesla may discuss manufacturing with Intel, stressing no agreement has been signed as Intel shares rose about 4% in after-hours trading and the company declined comment.
  • Musk said Tesla likely needs a “gigantic” in-house fab, describing a potential “TeraFab” with at least 100,000 wafer starts per month to close a long-term capacity gap.
  • Tesla currently relies on TSMC and Samsung for production but, even in best-case scenarios, Musk says their output would fall short of Tesla’s requirements.
  • The roadmap calls for limited AI5 chip production in 2026 and high-volume output in 2027, with an AI6 targeted for mid-2028, and Musk claimed substantial power and cost advantages versus Nvidia’s Blackwell.
  • Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang cautioned that building advanced semiconductor fabs is extremely hard, emphasizing the engineering complexity beyond constructing facilities.