Tesla has disbanded its Dojo AI training supercomputer team, with CEO Elon Musk confirming the project’s end due to it becoming an “evolutionary dead end.” This decision comes after Musk had previously indicated plans to scale up the project.
Musk explained on X, the social media platform he owns, that once it became clear all paths converged to AI6, he had to shut down Dojo and make tough personnel choices. He stated that Dojo 2 was now an evolutionary dead end, but hinted that a form of “Dojo 3” might persist with a large number of AI6 Systems-on-a-Chip (SoCs) on a single board.
The original plan for Tesla’s first Dojo supercomputer involved a combination of Nvidia GPUs and in-house-made D1 chips, with plans to construct a second Dojo facility, “Dojo 2,” utilizing a second-generation D2 chip. However, it appears the D2 chip and the broader Dojo project have been shelved. Tesla is now focusing on its AI5 and AI6 chips, manufactured by TSMC and Samsung, respectively.
The AI5 chip is designed to power Tesla’s driver assistance system, FSD, while the AI6 chip is engineered for onboard inference and large-scale AI training. Musk emphasized that it doesn’t make sense for Tesla to divide its resources and scale two different AI chip designs. He stated that the Tesla AI5, AI6, and subsequent chips will be excellent for inference and at least pretty good for training, with all effort focused on that.
Musk further elaborated on the benefits of consolidating chip designs for supercomputer clusters, suggesting that integrating many AI5/AI6 chips on a board would significantly reduce network cabling complexity and cost. He mused that one could call this “Dojo 3.” Musk has been a proponent of Dojo since 2019, positioning it as foundational for Tesla’s pursuit of full self-driving capabilities and humanoid robots.
Discussions about Dojo began to subside around August 2024, when Musk started promoting “Cortex,” a giant new AI training supercluster being built at Tesla HQ in Austin. The current status of Cortex remains unclear, and inquiries to Tesla regarding its progress and the fate of the $500 million Dojo facility built in Buffalo, New York, have not been publicly addressed.
This strategic pivot in Tesla’s AI development coincides with a challenging period for the company, experiencing a downturn in electric vehicle sales and significant brand damage. Despite these challenges, Musk has continued to assure investors of Tesla’s future in autonomy, following a slow and limited robotaxi launch in Austin in June.
