Elon Musk, the billionaire executive en vogue for his disruptive business ventures and self-funding political contributions, is back at it again. He plans to restart Tesla’s Dojo3 project, which was scrapped earlier this year. That lofty effort seeks to create a third-generation AI chip specifically designed for computing in space. Musk made the announcement with an Xpost on the platform formerly known as Twitter, where he shared his excitement for Tesla’s in-house chip roadmap.
Most may not have noticed that Musk recently received quite a bit of publicity for donating $10 million to a campaign in Kentucky. He stressed that the AI5 chip design is “doing well.” This revival is an important aspect of his overarching mission to weave powerful new artificial intelligence tools into the fabric of all fields, including exploration beyond our planet.
Five months after Tesla stopped its Dojo efforts, Musk’s making a more strategic play. His departure casts uncertainty over a new direction toward faster AI development taken by the company. In the case of He, the future of data centers may be off-planet. As it turns out, this idea has captivated other AI execs as well. Tesla has a clear strategic direction. They’re looking to leverage their new technological infrastructure to flex the full range of AI application potential.
In his original announcement, Musk made a personal pitch to engineers willing to work on the project. And instead of being a cold, impersonal institution, he afforded a very personal touch for the potential recruits, inviting them to contact him with their qualifications.
“If you’re interested in working on what will be the highest volume chips in the world, send a note to AI_Chips@Tesla.com with 3 bullet points on the toughest technical problems you’ve solved.” – Elon Musk
Even with all of the uncertainty around autonomous driving, Musk took a lot of risks. He continued, sorting out the rare edge cases is “super hard.” His candid recognition of these challenges speaks to the intricacies at play in pushing AI technology from research-focused solutions toward real-world applications.
The revival of Dojo3 is further enabled by Musk’s recent $16.5 billion deal with Samsung, aimed at producing AI chips. This collaboration further strengthens Tesla’s position as a serious contender in the race to reach highly ambitious AI goals, both with hardware and software. Musk is known for making interesting, sometimes visionary, sometimes looney sounding proposals. He spares no effort after that in making those concepts a reality.
Musk’s ability to move the goalposts unlike any other competitor in the industry provides him a competitive advantage. His control over launch vehicles allows him to explore innovative approaches to AI and computing that others may find challenging. Hence, he’s playing an active role in crafting the larger narrative around AI and its applications. His influence wields tremendous potency in both tech and political circles.
Tesla’s return attention to Dojo3 underscores its drive to technologically supercharge ridesharing. The company is delving into new territory and uses for artificial intelligence. Industry observers will be watching to see how Musk’s vision develops. They are just as excited to see its effect on Tesla and the broader technology ecosystem.
