Tesla and SpaceX announce $25B 'Terafab' chip factory – it reeks of desperation

SilverElfin

It feels like a lie. Gigapress, named similarly, was like this. It was just a press made by some other company but they marketed it as Tesla’s unique innovation. They’ll have to buy machines from other companies here too. And for what - destroying the night skies with a million satellites that will ultimately become debris when something goes wrong?

3eb7988a1663

Musk said 80% of Terafab’s compute output would be directed toward space-based orbital AI satellites, with only 20% for ground-based applications. He argued that solar irradiance in space is roughly 5x greater than at Earth’s surface, and that heat rejection in vacuum makes thermal scaling viable. His conclusion: orbital AI compute could become cheaper than terrestrial alternatives within 2-3 years... I am not really into this betting market thing, but I will put my life savings that orbital AI computing is not cheaper than land based within three years. Today, I believe launch costs are still well over $1000/kg.

__patchbit__

In house flywheel for rapid capability evaluation on new chip designs make sense. Post scarcity economic future offering free tickets to journey to Saturn is hopeful wishful thinking better than petty squabbles on Earth destroying $22 billion a day using 60 year old fighterjet refuelers having had 7 put out of action.

solid_fuel

More lies from Musk & co. If we had functional enforcement against white-collar crimes, he would be out of the picture for all the previous lies he has sold to investors. But right now, apparently, we are in a vibes-based economy instead of one based in material reality, so I expect this will drive even more investment. > Musk said the facility would produce between 100 and 200 billion custom AI and memory chips per year, powering Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” software, the Cybercab robotaxi program, and the Optimus humanoid robot line. He also said millions of Optimus robots would help build and operate the facility. > powering Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” software Sold and promised for more than a decade, doesn't exist yet. > the Cybercab robotaxi program Sold and promised, doesn't exist yet. Tesla has a bad safety record in their on-street testing. > Optimus humanoid robot line Sold and promised, doesn't exist. Last I heard, the demos were being remotely operated by people. > He also said millions of Optimus robots would help build and operate the facility. Pure fiction.

throwaway81523

Could they have bought Intel if they wanted a captive fab? It seemed ridiculously underpriced.