➀ Tesla CEO Elon Musk has chosen both Samsung Foundry and TSMC to produce the next-gen AI5 chip for Tesla, a critical component for its latest Autopilot hardware and real-time self-driving signals processing.

➁ The decision, confirmed during a Tesla earnings call, aims to leverage the capacity and optimization of both top-tier U.S. facilities.

➂ The split production deal is a win for both foundries and strengthens the U.S. semiconductor supply chain.

➀ Q2 NEV sales surged 30% YoY to 4.868 million units, with hybrids boosting total NEV sales to 6.456 million, representing 29% of global auto sales;

➁ BYD retained dominance with 18.3% market share (43% growth), while Tesla saw a 14% decline; Geely, Leapmotor, and XPeng achieved record sales, and Xiaomi entered the top 10;

➂ The US plans to end EV subsidies, and TrendForce forecasts slower NEV growth (21% in 2025, dropping to 14% in 2026).

➀ Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla has signed a $16.5 billion AI chip deal with Samsung;

➁ The deal involves Samsung's new Texas fab site supplying AI6 chips for Tesla's electric vehicles;

➂ The agreement is a strategic win for Samsung, as it will be dedicated to making Tesla's next-generation AI6 chips.

➀ Samsung secures a $16.5B deal to produce Tesla's next-gen A16 AI chips at its Texas fab, aiming for production by 2029;

➁ Elon Musk highlights strategic collaboration, including Tesla engineers assisting in Samsung's manufacturing efficiency;

➂ The contract boosts Samsung's foundry credibility against TSMC, targeting 2nm-class automotive-grade chips for autonomous vehicles.

➀ Tesla signs a $16.5 billion deal with Samsung to produce next-gen AI6 chips at Samsung's Taylor, Texas fab, with Elon Musk emphasizing the strategic importance of the collaboration;

➁ Samsung's 2nm yield struggles and TSMC's dominance in 2nm technology led major clients like Apple and AMD to choose TSMC, leaving Samsung's Texas fab initially without customers;

➂ Construction of the Texas fab, 90% complete but unequipped due to lack of demand, has now secured Tesla's order and delayed its operational timeline to 2026.

➀ Tesla has delayed its Optimus humanoid robot project, halting supplier orders for two months to address design flaws and explore new suppliers;

➁ Key technical challenges include limited battery life, overheating joint motors, low hand load capacity, and short transmission lifespan, potentially requiring reduced hand movement complexity;

➂ Leadership changes and scaled-back production targets (originally 5k units in 2025, 50k in 2026) cast doubt on project timelines.

➀ In-cabin sensing technologies (DMS/OMS) use infrared cameras, radar, and torque sensors to monitor driver behavior and passenger status for enhanced safety;

➁ Key challenges include sensor integration costs, algorithm reliability under varied conditions, and addressing privacy concerns with occupant monitoring;

➂ Tesla's adoption demonstrates practical applications, such as rear-seat child detection via 60GHz radar, driving industry innovation.

➀ Tesla's Robotaxi trial in Austin highlights potential technological limitations rather than showcasing advancement, with safety drivers still required despite claims of 'Full Self-Driving' at ADAS Level 2;

➁ Analysts note 60% of Tesla's $1 trillion valuation hinges on autonomous driving, yet it trails Waymo (valued at $45B) which operates fully autonomous fleets in multiple cities;

➂ The trial may aim to mitigate stock risks amid scrutiny from regulators and doubts about Tesla's ability to deliver Level 5 autonomy.

① Tesla plans to launch a robotaxi service in Austin, prompting Reuters to request two years of correspondence between Tesla and city authorities for review;

② Tesla opposes the request, arguing disclosure would benefit competitors, and has historically been less transparent about autonomous driving data compared to other companies;

③ The Texas Attorney-General is deciding on compliance, amid potential White House influence due to ongoing tensions between President Biden and Elon Musk.

➀ Tesla developed a groundbreaking 'Stress' tool to detect defective cores in its wafer-scale Dojo processors, critical for preventing silent data corruption that could invalidate weeks of AI training;

➁ Each Dojo 'Training Tile' contains 8,850 RISC-V cores and leverages TSMC's InFO_SoW packaging, with Stress enabling real-time monitoring across millions of cores without downtime;

➂ The method not only identifies faulty cores but also exposed rare design flaws, positioning Tesla alongside Google and Meta in hardware reliability while shaping future wafer-scale chip adoption.

➀ The Magnificent Seven, known for their market-moving influence, are currently experiencing losses;

➁ All seven companies closed last week at least 14.5% below their most recent three-month high;

➂ Tesla's share price has nearly halved since December 17 due to CEO Elon Musk's involvement with the Trump administration and the resulting damage to the brand.

➀ Researchers from RWTH Aachen University analyzed the battery designs of Tesla and BYD, two major players in the EV market, by disassembling their batteries.

➁ The study found that Tesla's batteries prioritize high energy density and performance, whereas BYD's focus on space efficiency and lower-cost materials.

➂ Despite differences, both batteries share some similarities such as using laser welding for connecting thin electrode foils.

➀ A Japanese group, allegedly including former Tesla director Hiro Mizuno and former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, has proposed a plan for Tesla to invest in Nissan.

➁ Both Mizuno and Suga have denied any involvement in the plan, and CEO Musk seems uninterested.

➂ The plan is based on the belief that Tesla wants to use Nissan's US factories to increase domestic production and avoid tariffs.

➀ In 2024, EV and fuel cell vehicle sales grew by 25% to reach 16.9 million units, with China's market share expanding to 67%;

➁ Tesla maintained its top position in BEV sales, followed by BYD and SAIC-GM-Wuling, which saw significant growth;

➂ BYD dominated the PHEV segment with a 38% market share, and the industry is expected to see consolidation and potential mergers in 2025.

➀ Tesla has issued a voluntary recall of nearly 400,000 vehicles in the US;

➁ The recall is due to a failing power-assisted steering system issue;

➂ The affected vehicles include Model 3 and Model Y manufactured between Feb. 28, 2023, and October 11, 2023.

➀ Jim Keller discusses his early work at DEC and AMD, focusing on the K8 architecture and his contributions to x86-64 and HyperTransport.

➁ Keller's experience at startup SiByte, including the development of network processors and his involvement with Andy Bechtolsheim and Cisco.

➂ His transition to Broadcom and the challenges of working in a larger company like Intel, where he learned about methodology and abstraction layers in computer design.

➃ Keller's time at P.A. Semi and his role in designing PowerPC processors, leading to the acquisition by Apple.

➄ His journey at Apple, from the first iPhone chip to the A-series processors, and the focus on performance and power efficiency.

➅ His return to AMD and the development of the Zen architecture, addressing the company's challenges and working with Global Foundries and TSMC.

➆ His move to Tesla and the development of the Hardware 3 chip for autonomous driving, followed by his transition to Intel and the challenges of managing a large engineering team.

➇ His current role at Tenstorrent AI, focusing on AI processors and software, and the company's mission to build a general-purpose computing platform.

➀ Tesla has automated the process of its vehicles autonomously driving from the factory floor to loading bays without human intervention, using its Full Self-Driving technology.

➁ The company posted to its Tesla AI account on X, showing it has automated the process that saves dozens of employees, and thousands of hours of time per year.

➂ In the video that Tesla shared, you can see the electric vehicles navigating intersections on their own, finding its way to an available bay, and parking itself.

➀ Tesla unveils its new Model Y for 2025 with a redesigned exterior, improved aerodynamics, and enhanced features.

➁ The new Model Y includes updated wheels, retuned suspension, and a new interior with ambient lighting and refined materials.

➂ The vehicle offers up to 320 miles of range, frequent software updates, and access to 65,000+ Superchargers globally.