Elon Musk says Tesla’s next AI processor has taped out and thanks Samsung and TSMC for manufacturing support
A post by Tesla CEO Elon Musk on X on April 15, announcing the completion of the AI5 chip design. (Screenshot from X)
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, said the design of the next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) chip ‘AI5’ has been completed. He also expressed thanks to Samsung Electronics and Taiwan’s TSMC, which will manufacture AI5.
On April 15, via his X (formerly Twitter) account, Musk said, “Congratulations to the Tesla AI chip design team on taping out AI5,” adding, “We are developing exciting chips, including AI6 and Dojo3.” Tape-out means the chip design is finalized and handed over to the manufacturing stage. Addressing Samsung Electronics and TSMC, which will produce the AI5 chip, Musk said, “Thanks for supporting production,” and added, “This chip will be one of the most produced AI chips in history.”
According to the industry, AI5 is expected to be mass-produced at TSMC’s Taiwan fab and Arizona fab, as well as Samsung Electronics’ Texas Taylor fab. The timing of full-scale mass production is projected to be 2027, about one year after the design completion. Musk mentioned AI5 and AI6 together that day, saying, "The chips will be used in Tesla’s autonomous vehicles and humanoids, among other products." AI5 will be produced by TSMC and Samsung Electronics, while AI6 will be produced entirely by Samsung Electronics. Musk previously said that tape-out for AI6 could also be possible as early as December this year.
In particular, industry attention was drawn to the phrase ‘KR2613’ engraved in the chip photo Musk released. The phrase indicates that it was manufactured at Samsung Electronics’ foundry plant in Korea in the 13th week of 2026. This suggests that Samsung Electronics’ domestic production line played a key role in the process of producing prototypes of the AI chip.
Cooperation among Korean semiconductor companies within the supply chain (SCM) also stood out. The prototype shown in the newly released photo was equipped with a memory product from SK hynix. It is understood that Samsung Electronics’ memory is also included in the overall AI5 supply chain. In areas such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which determines the performance of Tesla’s AI chips, the technological capabilities of both Samsung and SK hynix appear to have played roles across the board.
Samsung Electronics’ cutting-edge foundry process ‘SF2T’ was applied to this AI5 chip. At the foundry forum ‘SAFE 2025’ held in Seoul last year, Samsung Electronics unveiled ‘SF2P+,’ a third-generation 2-nanometer process, and said it was developing ‘SF2T,’ a custom process targeting Tesla’s follow-on AI6 chip and others.
Analysts say that because the SF2T process, which was previously known as being for next-generation models, was applied preemptively starting with AI5, the foundry alliance between the two companies has become even more solid.
Meanwhile, during the announcement, an odd mishap occurred in which Musk mentioned TSMC but tagged an unrelated account. Musk expressed thanks while pointing to Samsung Electronics (@Samsung) and TSMC, but he quoted the account of ‘TSC,’ a Taiwanese semiconductor company with a similar name, rather than an official TSMC account. It appears to have been a simple mistake stemming from the fact that TSMC does not operate a separate official X account.
With the declaration that AI5’s design is complete, Tesla’s independent AI semiconductor roadmap is expected to gain further momentum. Musk said that, in addition to AI5, follow-on lineups such as Dojo3, a next-generation supercomputer chip, and AI6 are already under development, signaling moves aimed at reducing dependence on Nvidia.
Kim Eun-jin
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