Elon Musk is escalating Tesla's ambitions in AI chips, spearheading design meetings and recruiting elite engineers.
On X, Musk invited candidates to apply to Tesla's AI chip team by sending an email with "three bullet points" illustrating "exceptional ability." He emphasized the company was serious about putting cutting-edge AI into chip design and that a new AI chip production cycle would be rolled out every 12 months.
Ambitious Chip Production Targets
According to Business Insider, Musk wants to "build chips at higher volumes than all other AI chips combined" for Tesla to show that the company has aggressive ambitions for the semiconductor industry.
Currently, Tesla cars use the AI4 chip, while AI5 is almost ready and AI6 is under development. These chips are designed for increased vehicle safety and to benefit Tesla's humanoid robot project, Optimus, possibly improving advanced medical care.
Strategic Partnership With Samsung
To achieve these lofty targets, Tesla inked a $16.5 billion agreement with Samsung in July for the fabrication of the A16 chip at a new Texas facility. Musk confirmed his hands-on involvement, planning to personally oversee the plant, which is expected to open in 2026.
High-Paying Engineering Opportunities
Tesla has opened several engineering positions at its Palo Alto-based AI hardware team. Positions include physical design engineers and signal and power integrity engineers, both essential to Tesla's roadmap for its AI chips.
- Physical Design Engineer: More than 10 years of experience in integrated circuits is required. Design, build, and integrate building blocks that make up Tesla AI chips. Salary range for this role is $152,000 - $264,000 per year, plus stock awards and benefits.
- Signal and Power Integrity Engineer: The role will test and validate the next-generation AI chips for vehicles and Optimus robots. It pays $120,000 to $318,000 annually, along with stock awards and benefits.
Musk's Hands-On Approach
Musk attends chip design meetings twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, to ensure that the team doesn't lose steam. He said the Saturday sessions would be temporary and end once AI5 is taped out. Being known for his deep involvement with products, Musk says he will also personally oversee the new Samsung fab to accelerate Tesla's chipmaking process as part of the company's AI-driven future.
Still, his Grok AI is operating amid controversies. The chatbot is reportedly making bizarre claims like "Elon Musk is fitter than LeBron James" and "Elon Musk is more intelligent than Albert Einstein."
Meanwhile, The Guardian report said that Musk-led agency DOGE has been dissolved, with eight months still left on its contract.
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