Tesla is moving closer to the next version of its artificial intelligence (AI) hardware, with CEO Elon Musk confirming the company is nearing the tape-out stage for its AI5 chip while at the same time beginning development of its successor, AI6.
In semiconductor terms, “taping out” means the chip’s design is finalized and sent to the manufacturer to begin physical production, with changes after this point becoming extremely costly and complex.
In a post on X, Musk said the company is closing to reaching this stage for AI5, while calling for people interested in working on the AI chip team to apply by sending in just three bullet points “describing evidence of your exceptional ability.”
“Our goal is to bring a new AI (artificial intelligence) chip design to volume production every 12 months.” He added, “The current version in cars is AI4; we are close to taping out AI5 and are starting work on AI6.”
These comments are the latest update on Tesla’s AI chip timeline, following a series of recent comments where Musk confirmed the company is working on chip generations all the way up to AI8. Earlier this month, Musk revealed he had “just finished a long AI5 design review with the Tesla California and Texas chip engineers,” while saying AI6 and AI7 would follow “in fast succession,” and that AI8 would be “out of this world.”
Tesla’s rapid push into custom silicon comes after the company outgrew its earlier hardware. Its AI3 (Hardware 3) chip, introduced in 2019, powered most Tesla vehicles for years, but struggled to keep up with increasingly complex Full Self-Driving neural networks, especially with the shift to end-to-end AI in FSD v12 and beyond. Tesla has since acknowledged AI3 lacks the compute power required for its latest models and has limited advanced FSD features to vehicles equipped with AI4.
Musk emphasized just how central this hardware is to Tesla’s AI leadership, saying, “Most people don’t know that Tesla (TSLA) has had an advanced AI chip and board engineering team for many years. That team has already designed and deployed several million AI chips in our cars and data centers. These chips are what enable Tesla to be the leader in real-world AI.”
While AI5 is nearing tape-out, production timelines for the company’s other chips stretch much further out. According to Musk’s previous comments earlier this month, AI5 will enter sample and limited production in 2026, with full volume manufacturing targeted for 2027. AI6 is expected to deliver roughly double the performance and is aiming for volume production around mid-2028. AI7 and AI8 are already in early planning, with AI8 projected for 2030 and beyond.
Musk has also repeatedly stressed the scale of Tesla’s ambitions, saying, “We expect to build chips at higher volumes ultimately than all other AI chips combined,” adding, “I’m not kidding.”
Tesla’s manufacturing partners will play a major role in that scale. AI5 will reportedly be produced by both TSMC and Samsung, while AI6 is expected to be built at a new Samsung facility in Texas under a US$16.5 billion agreement announced earlier this year.
