Musk says Samsung will co-manufacture Tesla’s AI5 alongside TSMC, on the heels of a $16.5bn AI6 deal, as Tesla locks in dual U.S. foundries to de-risk supply and scale its autonomy and robotics ambitions.
Tesla is doubling up on chip suppliers.
On the company’s Q3 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk said Samsung Electronics will share manufacturing duties for Tesla’s current-generation AI5 processor – marking a notable shift from earlier signals that TSMC would be the primary foundry.
Musk told investors: “We’re actually going to focus both TSMC and Samsung initially on AI5”,framing a dual-foundry strategy aimed at securing capacity for Tesla’s autonomy and robotics roadmap.
The move follows Tesla’s $16.5 billion multiyear pact with Samsung, announced in July, to build next-gen AI6 chips in Texas – seen as a marquee win for Samsung’s foundry unit as it pushes to close the gap with market leader TSMC.
Musk previously said Samsung was already producing Tesla’s AI4 parts, while TSMC had been lined up for the in-development node, with the latest comments bring both giants under the AI5 umbrella.
Analysts say a dual-sourcing approach reduces supply risk and can create leverage on yield, pricing and timelines – critical as Tesla scales Full Self-Driving, Dojo-class training, and the Optimus robot programme.
Reporting around the call suggests initial AI5 production will be split between Samsung’s Taylor, Texas facility and TSMC’s Arizona fab, aligning with U.S. on-shoring incentives and Tesla’s Austin footprint.
The strategic bet also reflects a broader industry realignment.
While Samsung remains a distant No. 2 in the foundry market, the Tesla deals inject high-profile volume and validate Samsung’s most advanced lines – potentially leading to further U.S. contracts.
For Tesla, spreading orders across two cutting-edge 2-3nm roadmaps could help avoid the bottlenecks that have plagued AI compute buyers over the past two years.
Musk signaled Tesla wants an “oversupply” of AI5 chips to accelerate data-centre deployments and autonomy workloads, complementing the company’s continued use of Nvidia hardware.
If Samsung executes on AI5 and AI6 as planned, the foundry landscape, long dominated by TSMC, may get a more competitive jolt from Texas.
Elon Musk says Samsung is taking a larger role in making Tesla processors
