Overview
- Tesla finalized its AI5 chip design on Wednesday, sending it to TSMC and Samsung for fabrication with first test silicon expected later in 2026.
- Musk said early AI5 use will center on Optimus robots and Tesla supercomputer clusters, with vehicles staying on the current AI4 hardware for now.
- Terafab teams have asked Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, and Lam Research for prices and delivery dates on fab tools as they target a pilot line by 2029.
- Tesla posted nine Taiwan jobs for Terafab that seek experience in sub‑7 nm and 2 nm-class processes and advanced packaging such as CoWoS and SoIC.
- TSMC’s CC Wei cautioned that building and ramping a modern foundry takes about five years, signaling long lead times even with an aggressive schedule.