Elon Musk announced on the social platform X today that Tesla has completed the design of a new generation of AI chips for autonomous driving (FSD), code-named AI5. According to its previous disclosure, the performance target of AI5 is to benchmark Nvidia's "Hopper" architecture. The computing power of two AI5 chips is expected to be comparable to one "Blackwell" processor.
As early as the end of 2025, there were reports that Tesla had made major adjustments to the production strategy of the new generation AI accelerator, splitting the manufacturing orders for AI5 chips between Samsung and TSMC. This was also seen as an important boost to Samsung's previously weak wafer foundry business. According to the information currently disclosed, AI5 will be produced at Samsung's factory in Tyler, Texas, and TSMC's factory in Arizona, USA. Tesla's move is intended to diversify supply chain risks through diversified foundry partners and better control chip supply under different demand scenarios.
In addition to foundry partners, Tesla has also introduced a number of storage and packaging partners. Reports show that the DRAM used in the AI5 chip is provided by SK Hynix in the form of LPDDR5X memory integrated in the package. Judging from the physical layout of the chip, there are two rows of memory on the left and right sides. Each row is equipped with three SK Hynix LPDDR5X particles, for a total of 12 memory modules. Calculated based on a single 16 GB capacity, the total LPDDR5X capacity of a single AI5 SoC reaches 192 GB, providing high bandwidth and large-capacity memory support for autonomous driving and related AI workloads.
After AI5, Tesla has planned a more aggressive chip iteration rhythm. Musk revealed that the company is advancing the research and development of the next-generation AI6 chip with a design cycle of about nine months. The project will also involve Samsung and TSMC, and may introduce technical cooperation with Intel in advanced packaging. Previous news showed that Tesla has cooperated with Intel on packaging solutions in AI5-related projects and is simultaneously promoting the new generation Dojo 3 system. Musk confirmed that AI6 and Dojo 3 are under development along with other "exciting chips," indicating that Tesla will continue to launch more customized ASIC solutions for specific scenarios in the coming months to strengthen its layout in the fields of autonomous driving and AI computing power.