Elon Musk says Tesla's AI5 chip will be made by Samsung in Texas and TSMC in Arizona, with the “oversupply” of chips not used by Tesla going to his data centers
Elon Musk, on the AI5 chip, which is 40x better than the AI4 chip [image] Ed Ludlow / @edludlow : Musk's clarification on Samsung seems important. He's saying Samsung is involved in the AI5 process. Previously, Musk outlined that Samsung had fab'd AI4, TSMC would do AI5 and AI6 would be Samsung. Now it seems Samsung is involved in AI5 but he didn't say where (US or Korea) Dan Nystedt / @dnystedt : 4/9 The best part is no part. “With the AI5, we deleted the legacy GPU, or the traditional GPU. It's in AI4, but AI5 does not have - we just deleted the legacy GPU because it basically is a GPU. We also deleted the image signal processor. This is like a long list of deletions Dan Nystedt / @dnystedt : Elon Musk on Tesla's AI5 chip design: Thread 1/9 “This is a beautiful chip. I've poured so much life energy into this chip personally, and I'm confident this is going to be a winner. Next level.” “I've spent almost every weekend for the last few months with the chip design team Dan Nystedt / @dnystedt : 6/9 Elon on Samsung and TSMC “We are actually going to focus both TSMC and Samsung initially on AI5” “Technically, the Samsung fab has slightly more advanced equipment than the TSMC fab. These will both be made in the US, one TSMC in Arizona, Samsung in Texas.” “Samsung, it's Sawyer Merritt / @sawyermerritt : Elon Musk on Tesla's next-gen HW5 (AI5) chip: “We are actually going to focus TSMC and Samsung on AI5. The chip design is an amazing design. I have spent almost every weekend the last few months with the chip design on AI5. By some metrics, it will be 40X better than AI4. We [image] Yoolim Lee / @yoolimleenews : Elon Musk just said TSMC, Samsung Electronics will work on Tesla's AI5 chip design. He previously indicated that AI5 would be manufactured by TSMC. So he is indicating a larger role for Samsung in the manufacture of his company's chips, an apparent boost for the Korean Dan Nystedt / @dnystedt : 3/9 Performance “By some metrics, the AI5 chip will be 40-times better than the AI4 chip. Not 40%, 40-times. Because we have a detailed understanding of the entire software and hardware stack, we're designing the hardware to address all of the pain points in software.” “we know Forums: r/StockMarket : Elon Musk says Tesla ‘not about to replace Nvidia’ as EV maker develops chips for cars, robots
Context & Ripple Effects
Tesla’s custom-silicon effort has progressed from its earlier work on a self-driving AI chip to a longer-term manufacturing commitment: Samsung’s reported $16.5B Tesla agreement was tied to AI6 production through 2033. AI5 places an intervening generation across two U.S. foundry footprints.
The arrangement also follows TSMC’s Arizona ramp for Nvidia’s Blackwell chips, a sign that advanced AI-chip production is becoming relevant to multiple customers at TSMC’s Phoenix plant. Tesla is positioning its chip roadmap around both vehicle use and data-center demand.
First-order effects
- Tesla can source AI5 from Samsung in Texas and TSMC in Arizona, spreading production of one chip generation across two manufacturers rather than assigning it to a single foundry.
- Chips beyond Tesla’s vehicle requirements would be redirected to Musk’s data centers, making AI5 capacity usable across Tesla-adjacent AI workloads instead of being treated solely as automotive inventory.
Second-order effects
- Samsung and TSMC will need to support Tesla’s design and production requirements in parallel, while Tesla must manage qualification and supply planning across distinct fabs.
- Using excess chip output in data centers gives Tesla more flexibility in sizing production runs, but it also ties automotive-chip planning more closely to demand for AI compute.
Third-order effects
- If this model persists through later generations, Tesla’s in-house silicon program could become a multi-use compute platform spanning vehicles and data centers, rather than a narrowly automotive component effort.
- The pattern reinforces a broader competition for U.S.-based advanced-foundry capacity, with large AI customers diversifying manufacturing while seeking tighter control over their compute supply chains.
The trend: AI buyers are increasingly treating custom chips and domestic multi-foundry supply as strategic infrastructure for both edge products and centralized compute.