Elon Musk confirms shutdown of Tesla Dojo, ‘an evolutionary dead end'

Core Insights - Tesla has disbanded the team working on its Dojo AI training supercomputer, shifting focus to AI5 and AI6 chips [1][3][4] - The D2 chip development has been shelved, and resources will be concentrated on the AI5 and AI6 chips, which are being manufactured by TSMC and Samsung [3][4] - Musk indicated that the new strategy aims to reduce complexity and costs by consolidating efforts on fewer chip designs [4] Company Strategy - The decision to shut down Dojo was made after determining that it was an "evolutionary dead end," with future efforts now directed towards AI6 systems-on-a-chip [2][4] - The AI5 chip is designed for Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, while AI6 is intended for both onboard inference and large-scale AI training [3][4] - Musk suggested that the new approach could be referred to as "Dojo 3," focusing on integrating multiple AI5/AI6 chips on a single board [4] Market Context - The shift in strategy occurs amid declining electric vehicle (EV) sales and brand challenges for Tesla, particularly following Musk's political engagements [8] - Despite these challenges, Musk is attempting to reassure investors about Tesla's future in autonomy, even as the robotaxi launch has faced difficulties [9]