'Bangla Teslas' give Musk a run for his money
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Reuters
19 minutes ago
- Reuters
Musk says Tesla, Samsung sign $16.5 billion chip supply deal
SEOUL, July 28 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab CEO Elon Musk said the U.S. automaker had signed a $16.5 billion deal to source chips from Samsung Electronics ( opens new tab, 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. 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 ( opens new tab 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 start to 2026. While no timeline was provided for AI6 chip production, Musk has previously said that next-generation A15 chips will be produced at the end of 2026, suggesting A16 would follow. Lee Dong-ju, an analyst at SK Securities, expects production in 2027 or 2028, but Tesla has a history of missing its targets. Samsung currently makes Tesla's A14 chips, which power its Full Self-Driving driver assistant system, while TSMC is slated to make the AI5, initially in Taiwan and then Arizona, Musk has said. Samsung, the world's top memory chip maker, also produces logic chips designed by customers through its foundry business. The Texas project is central to Samsung Chairman Jay Y. Lee's strategy to expand beyond its bread-and-butter memory chips into contract chip manufacturing. Samsung currently holds just 8% of the global foundry market, far behind industry leader TSMC ( opens new tab, which has a 67% share, data from market researcher Trendforce show. Samsung had earlier announced the $16.5 billion chip supply deal without naming the client, saying the customer had requested confidentiality about the details of the deal, which will run through the end of 2033. Three sources briefed about the matter told Reuters that Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab was the customer for the deal. The deal with Tesla comes as Samsung, which is due to report its earnings on Thursday, faces mounting pressure in the race to produce artificial intelligence chips, where it trails rivals such as TSMC and SK Hynix ( opens new tab. This lag has weighed heavily on its profits and share price. Pak Yuak, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said the deal would help reduce losses at Samsung's foundry business, which he estimates exceeded 5 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in the first half of the year. Analysts say Samsung has struggled to retain key clients, with many defecting to TSMC for advanced chips, underscoring technological challenges the firm faces in the race to stay relevant in the capital intensive business. TSMC counts Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and Qualcomm (QCOM.O), opens new tab among its customers. It is not clear whether the Samsung-Tesla deal is related to ongoing trade talks between South Korea and the United States. Seoul is seeking U.S. partnerships in chips and shipbuilding amid last-ditch efforts to reach a trade deal to eliminate or reduce potential 25% U.S. tariffs. ($1 = 1,378.7000 won)
BreakingNews.ie
2 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Tesla tests fully self-driving car in London and Swindon
Tesla is demonstrating its cars' fully self-driving capabilities in tests on UK public roads. The electric vehicle manufacturer released two videos showing a Model 3 car negotiating central London and Swindon's Magic Roundabout while the person in the driver's seat is not holding the steering wheel. Advertisement Roundabout final boss FSD Supervised tackling Swindon Magic Roundabout in 🇬🇧 — Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) July 25, 2025 The three-minute clip shot in London demonstrates the car dealing with roadworks and passing landmarks such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Downing Street. Tesla said the Model 3 used for the videos contains the same hardware as vehicles delivered to customers today, but has software currently available only to its engineers. The company is awaiting regulatory approval to use its unsupervised full self-driving capabilities in the UK. Full drive through London, UK 🇬🇧 FSD Supervised is pending regulatory approval — Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) July 25, 2025 Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: 'It is a mistake to think that driverless technology won't be able to cope with the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of the UKs roads – hats off to anyone, or anything, that can successfully negotiate the Magic Roundabout. Advertisement 'The challenge for the regulatory authorities – and the nagging worry in the minds of potential passengers – is how to be sure that these vehicles can cope in every combination of circumstances they might encounter, including those where the human drivers around them might be less inclined to stick to the rules. 'The regulatory test self-driving vehicles need to pass is not whether they can cope with our roads on a given day, it is whether they can cope every day in every combination of circumstances they might encounter.' On Monday, the Government launched a consultation on what rules self-driving taxis should have to meet in future.
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
Musk says Tesla, Samsung Electronics sign $16.5 billion chip supply deal
SEOUL, July 28 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab CEO Elon Musk said the U.S. automaker had signed a $16.5 billion deal to source chips from Samsung Electronics ( opens new tab, a move expected to bolster the South Korean tech giant's loss-making contract manufacturing business. Samsung shares rose more than 4% after the news. "Samsung's giant new Texas fab will be dedicated to making Tesla's next-generation AI6 chip. The strategic importance of this is hard to overstate," Musk said in a post on X on Monday. If Musk was referring to Samsung's upcoming Taylor, Texas, plant, the deal could revive the project that has faced delays amid Samsung's struggles to retain and win major customers. "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 on his social media platform. Samsung had earlier announced the $16.5 billion chip supply deal without naming the client, saying the customer had requested confidentiality about the details of the deal, which will run through the end of 2033. Three sources briefed about the matter told Reuters that Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab was the customer for the deal. The deal comes as Samsung faces mounting pressure in the race to produce artificial intelligence chips, where it trails rivals such as TSMC ( opens new tab and SK Hynix ( opens new tab. This lag has weighed heavily on its profits and share price. Samsung, the world's top memory chip maker, also makes logic chips designed by customers through its foundry business. Pak Yuak, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said the latest deal would help reduce losses at Samsung's foundry business, which he estimated exceeded 5 trillion won ($3.63 billion) in the first half of the year. Analysts say Samsung has struggled with the defection of key clients to TSMC for advanced chips. TSMC counts Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and Qualcomm (QCOM.O), opens new tab among its customers. The Samsung-Tesla deal may also be significant for South Korea, which is seeking U.S. partnerships in chips and shipbuilding amid last-ditch efforts to reach a trade deal to eliminate or reduce potential 25% U.S. tariffs. Samsung is grappling to boost production yields of its latest 2-nanometer technology, but the order is unlikely to involve the cutting-edge tech, said Lee Min-hee, an analyst at BNK Investment & Securities. Samsung has been losing market share to TSMC in contract manufacturing, underscoring technological challenges the firm faces in mastering advanced chip manufacturing to attract clients like Apple and Nvidia, analysts said. ($1 = 1,378.7000 won)
