Elon Musk hints at December tape-out for Tesla’s AI6 chips

Elon Musk has announced plans on Thursday regarding the next generation chips used in Tesla.

According to the CEO of Tesla, the automaker may be able to tape-out Tesla’s AI6 chips in December, demonstrating a stage when chip design is finalized and will be sent to the factory for production purposes.

Taking to X, the 54-year-old billionaire announced, “With some luck and acceleration using AI, we might be able to tape out AI6 ​in December.”

Last year, Musk entered a $16.5 billion deal with Korean company Samsung. Under the deal, Samsung would make next-gen AI6 chips and supply the chips to the electric car maker, aiming to use them in self-driving cars and humanoid robots at Tesla's new factory in Taylor Texas.

Mass production is currently targeted for the second half of 2027, with chips likely appearing in vehicles and robots by 2028.

According to Samsung executive, the company plans to produce Tesla chips, ⁠based ​on Samsung's advanced 2nm ​process, in the second half of 2027.

Reports from mid-March 2026 indicate a roughly six-month delay in Samsung’s 2nm production line, which is the primary process for AI6 chips.

Elon Musk dubbed AI6 as a next-generation chip, having the potential to become the best AI chip by far.

Musk has also signalled a shift where AI6 will be primarily devoted to Optimus (humanoid robots) and data centers rather than being the main vehicle component.

In late January, the CEO of SpaceX posted, “AI4 by itself will achieve self-driving safety levels very far above humans. AI5 will make the cars almost perfect and greatly enhance Optimus. AI6 will be for Optimus and data centers. AI7/Dojo3 will be a space-based AI compute."