Tesla exec leading development of chip tech and Dojo supercomputer is leaving company

Group 1 - Tesla's vice president of hardware design engineering, Pete Bannon, is leaving the company after joining in 2016 from Apple, and he was leading the development of Tesla's Dojo supercomputer [1] - Musk has been positioning Tesla as an artificial intelligence and robotics powerhouse, with Dojo being a key component designed to process and train AI models using data from Tesla vehicles [2] - The focus on Dojo and another computing cluster, Cortex, aims to enhance Tesla's advanced driver assistance systems and fulfill Musk's vision of transforming existing Teslas into robotaxis [3] Group 2 - Tesla has entered a $16.5 billion deal with Samsung to produce A16 chips domestically, and is currently testing a Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, which requires a human safety supervisor [4] - During an earnings call, Musk addressed concerns about competition for AI talent between Tesla and his AI company, xAI, stating that both companies are focused on different aspects of AI development [5][6] - Tesla has seen a significant departure of top talent this year, including key figures in robotics and software engineering, indicating potential challenges in retaining skilled personnel [7]