Elon Musk says Tesla and Samsung have signed a $16.5 billion chip deal
Elon Musk says Tesla and Samsung have signed a $16.5 billion chip deal
(Reuters) - Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the U.S. automaker had signed a $16.5 billion deal to source chips from Samsung Electronics, a move expected to bolster the South Korean tech giant’s loss-making contract manufacturing business.
Samsung’s shares jumped as much as 6.8% to their highest since September last year after news of the deal. Tesla shares were up 1.9% in U.S. premarket trading.
Musk said Samsung’s new chip factory in Taylor, Texas will make Tesla’s next-generation AI6 chip, potentially re-energizing the project that has faced long delays amid Samsung’s difficulties in retaining and attracting major clients.
“Samsung agreed to allow Tesla to assist in maximizing manufacturing efficiency. This is a critical point, as I will walk the line personally to accelerate the pace of progress. And the fab is conveniently located not far from my house,” Musk said in a post on X on Monday.
“The $16.5B number is just the bare minimum. Actual output is likely to be several times higher,” he said in another post.
According to a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities, Ryu Young-ho, Samsung’s Taylor fab “so far had virtually no customers, so this order is quite meaningful.”
In October, Reuters reported that Samsung had postponed taking deliveries of ASML chipmaking equipment for its Texas factory as it had not yet won any major customers for the project. It has already delayed the plant’s operational See more
