Tesla has only begun issuing hardware 4.0, but they're already looking ahead to hardware 5.0
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Tesla is reportedly set to collaborate with Samsung Electronics, the leading global memory chipmaker. This partnership aims to manufacture Tesla's forthcoming FSD chips, vital components in the next phase of Tesla's autonomous driving technology.
Utilizing Samsung's advanced 4-nanometer node technology, these FSD chips will serve as the central intelligence for Tesla's forthcoming Hardware 5.0 computers. The Korea Economic Daily reported insiders believe Tesla's ambitious strategy involves mass-producing these innovative systems within approximately three to four years.
Tesla's choice to collaborate with Samsung marks a deviation from its prior partnership with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). Now, Tesla is said to be exploring the possibility of partnering with both Samsung and TSMC or transitioning to Samsung alone for the large-scale production of these vital fifth-generation auto chips.
Strengthening Technological Alliances: The Musk-Lee Meeting
This strategic turning point originated from a crucial meeting in May 2023 between Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, and Samsung Group's leader, Lee Jay-yong. The discussion was centered on enhancing and expanding the technological alliance between their respective companies. The international business community knows Lee as Jay Y. Lee, and during this meeting, he proposed several enticing terms, including favorable contract prices.
Samsung has a history of supplying Tesla with earlier versions of FSD chips. These chips have been integral components in Tesla's vehicles. Despite this established relationship, Tesla initially selected TSMC over Samsung for the next-generation FSD chip production, with the latter believed to have superior manufacturing yields at the cutting-edge 4 nm process.
However, industry insiders have since reported that Samsung has made significant strides in enhancing its production yield, which is now said to be nearly on par with TSMC's.
Market Impact: The Rising Demand for Advanced Auto Chips
The global auto chip market is forecasted to experience dramatic growth in the coming years. It's expected to nearly double from this year's estimated worth of $76 billion to a staggering $143 billion by 2029. This projected growth can be attributed to the increasing demand for advanced auto chips spurred by global carmakers' widespread adoption of autonomous and in-vehicle infotainment systems.
Tesla's hardware 4.0 is still at the beginning of its useful life, in fact, it's not even available in every Tesla yet. However, technology is constantly evolving and as Tesla engineers finish designing one piece of hardware, they begin on the next big thing.
Hardware and software will continue to evolve, even after Tesla achieves full self-driving. The goal will always be to be able to drive safer, faster, and more efficiently.
Tesla purchased SolarCity, a large solar and backup installer, back in 2016 and shortly thereafter began installing its unique Tesla Solar Roof, regular Tesla Solar panels, and Tesla Powerwalls for both commercial and residential customers.
However, as the years have passed, Tesla has lost its interest in the actual installation portion of the business. They’re more than happy to continue producing Solar Roofs and expanding Powerwall production, but for the most part, their in-house rate of installations has slowed drastically.
Since Q2 2020, Tesla has seen a 10% or greater drop per quarter in the number of in-house Solar Roof, Solar, and Powerwall installations every quarter.
Third-Party Certification
Tesla has instead begun to certify third-party installers throughout North America and Europe for Powerwall and solar panels and within the United States for Solar Roof.
Tesla launched the Certified Installer Program in 2020 and said it has approximately 2,000 certified installers in over 14 countries—and those certified installers have set up over 1 million installations. James Bickford, Tesla’s Director of Global Sales, Residential Energy Products, announced the expansion of the Certified Installer Program and its new push on LinkedIn.
The Certified Installer Program provides several things to get third parties ready to install and commission Tesla’s home energy ecosystem, including virtual and in-person training, on-site training, custom installation tools, and the Tesla One Software Platform.
In addition to those supports, Tesla’s Partner Platform offers marketing support resources and a dedicated access system for a personal Account Manager from Tesla.
Tesla One Dashboard
The Tesla One dashboard offers third-party installers a one-stop-shop platform for managing quotes, installations, and repairs in one mobile app.
It is a convenient-looking application that lets third-party installers see what tasks they need to perform for specific installations and also helps them scale particular installations to customer requirements.
While this isn’t a new direction for Tesla overall, we’re seeing a distinct move in the energy business from Tesla as a first-party installer of its products to a more hands-off approach where local electricians and contractors will install Tesla products under its auspices.
We’re interested to see where Tesla continues to go with this, as they’ve seen their Powerwall business expanding in the last few years, while Tesla Solar and Solar Roof have dropped off many people’s radars lately.
Tesla has sent out its first batch of event invites to its “We, Robot” event – the Robotaxi Event. Invitees must confirm their attendance no later than midnight on Sunday, October 6th.
In order for a chance to get an invite – Shareholders had to confirm their shares and participate in a raffle. The selected winners started receiving emails last night.
It seems that space for the event is extremely limited and that tickets will be issued on a first-come first-serve basis. We’re not sure if Tesla intends to add another wave of invites at this point, but we’ll keep an eye out.
Event Details
Event details haven’t been issued just yet, but once invitees confirm their RSVP, they will receive another email with the next steps and exact event details. The tickets remain non-transferable, and unlike other Tesla events, not everyone is receiving a +1. It appears some invites let you add on a guest, while others are just for the invitee. The event is for those aged 21+, and IDs will be checked upon arrival.
In terms of timing, the doors open at 5 PM local, and check-in begins around 5:30 PM. The remarks for the event will begin around 7 PM.
Those who have received invites have confirmed that “RSVP Received” is displayed on the Tesla Investor Relations site after clicking through. It seems that the actual tickets themselves will come as a separate e-mail.
We’re super excited to see what Tesla will reveal – this event is one of their most anticipated, and we expect to see the Robotaxi driving around on Hollywood set stages as part of the demo.
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