Abstract:
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that the two companies plan to manufacture and test about 10 sets of chip designs per year at the Terafab research and development fab located in the Texas Gigafactory. Musk said that it traditionally takes up to two years for an important chip to go from research and development to mass production, and this goal is intended to significantly speed up the chip development process.
Musk said the two companies hope to challenge the risk-averse mentality prevalent in the chip manufacturing industry. "I think the original intention of Tesla and SpaceX in building this fab was to try some high-risk, high-return projects." He said in the interview.
He emphasized that 10 sets of designs a year refers to accelerating the iteration cycle of chip manufacturing and testing, rather than putting 10 different chips into mass production every year. "We hope to complete about 10 sets of chip designs every year." He added that the two years it takes for a major chip to go from design start to mass production is considered relatively fast in the industry.
This planned Texas Gigafactory research and development fab will integrate chip manufacturing, testing, packaging and photolithography mask production in the same building. Musk said that the team can complete chip testing, make new versions of photolithography masks, and iterate new versions without interrupting the R&D cycle. "When you try a lot of different technology routes, many solutions will fail." But a faster testing mechanism can speed up the overall development progress.
Musk admitted frankly: "I don't understand how to make chips at all, but we will figure it out." He said that it may take several years to realize this grand idea: "It may take many years, but in the long run, I am very confident that we can do it."
Musk calls this R&D closed loop a powerful tool: "In the same building, complete machine manufacturing and testing, then create new masks and tape out new versions of chips, so as to maximize the speed of this iteration cycle."
He introduced that Tesla will initially use off-the-shelf equipment and modify the equipment to increase production capacity, and will later develop customized equipment to address production bottlenecks. The goal of “10 sets of designs a year” for the R&D wafer fab is not the same as Terafab’s overall plan. Musk previously said that the overall project includes two factories, each factory is responsible for mass production of a chip. The entire large-scale project aims to supply chips for Tesla cars, Optimus humanoid robots, and space AI data centers.
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