Tesla is exploring new avenues to expand its chip supplier network. Following its existing partnerships with TSMC and Samsung, the electric vehicle giant is now eyeing Intel’s foundry services to meet its escalating demand for semiconductors.
Tesla’s Prospective Partnership with Intel
Intel Foundry Services has yet to secure significant external customers despite its competitive 18A process. However, Elon Musk has hinted at a budding collaboration, expressing Tesla’s need for massive chip production volumes from all its partners. If successful, Tesla would become the first company to source semiconductors from Samsung, TSMC, and Intel simultaneously.
Maybe we’ll do something with Intel. We haven’t signed any deal, but it’s probably worth having discussions with Intel. Even when we extrapolate the best-case scenario for chip production from our suppliers, it is still not enough.
– Elon Musk
The Strategic Importance of Intel’s 18A Node
If Tesla moves forward with Intel, it would likely focus on the 18A node, currently Intel Foundry Services’ most competitive process. Tesla is on the hunt for ‘2nm suppliers’ to support its next-gen AI6 chips. Although Intel was once rumored to provide advanced packaging for Tesla’s Dojo supercomputer, talks were halted after the project’s closure. Now, the focus shifts to a semiconductor collaboration, presenting a lucrative opportunity for Intel.
As one of the ‘Big Three’ in the chip industry, Intel boasts the most advanced US-based fab, with its Arizona Fab 52 facility currently producing the 18A node, rivaling TSMC’s N2 and Samsung’s SF2. Given Tesla’s emphasis on ‘manufacturing in America’, working with Intel grants access to a state-of-the-art facility on home soil. However, specific details about a potential Tesla-Intel deal remain undisclosed, as Musk has yet to provide further information.