Jakarta - Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla's artificial intelligence chip factory project called Terafab will start to be launched in the next seven days. The project is part of Tesla's ambition to produce its own AI chips to support the company's autonomous vehicle technology.
In his statement, Musk explained that Tesla is developing a fifth-generation AI chip designed to strengthen the company's automated driving system, including Tesla's Full Self-Driving software.
According to Musk, Tesla's need for AI chips continues to increase as it develops autonomous vehicle technology and robotics. Even with production from current supplier partners, the number of chips available is still considered insufficient.
"Even if we extrapolate the best-case scenario of our supplier chip production, the number is still not enough," Musk said earlier at the company's annual meeting.
Tesla is considering building its own giant chip production facility called Terafab, a concept that Musk described as larger than Tesla's vehicle factory known as Gigafactory.
"I think we might have to make Tesla fabless. It's like giga, but much bigger. I don't see any other way to achieve the chip volumes we need," Musk said.
In the development of the AI chip, Tesla is also known to be working with several major semiconductor companies in the world. Musk previously mentioned the possibility of cooperation with Intel, although so far no official agreement has been announced.
In addition to Intel, Tesla is also reportedly partnering with global chip manufacturers such as Taiwan's TSMC and South Korea's Samsung Electronics to produce the latest generation of AI chips.
The chip will be the brain of Tesla's various intelligent systems, ranging from automatic driving features to the development of humanoid robots that the company is working on.
However, Musk also admitted that the development of Tesla's humanoid robot is still far from being fully functional. The technology still needs time and improvement of AI capabilities before it can be widely used.
In today's technology industry, AI chips are becoming a very important strategic component. Global demand for chips for artificial intelligence is increasing rapidly as autonomous vehicle technology, robotics, and AI data centers develop.
Tesla's move to build its own chip factory shows a new trend in the tech industry, where big companies are starting to try to control their own semiconductor supply chains.
The strategy is similar to approaches that have long been taken by major technology companies to ensure the steady supply of critical components amid increasingly tight global competition.
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