Tesla Revives Dojo 3 Project with New AI Chip Targeting Space Applications

On January 21, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the revival of the previously halted third-generation AI chip project, Dojo3, redirecting its focus toward "space-based AI computing." This move comes just about five months after the Dojo team was disbanded in August last year. Musk stated that Tesla’s internal AI chip roadmap has made positive progress, with the AI5 chip—manufactured by TSMC—showing strong design performance, which has enabled the "resurrection" of the Dojo project. The AI5 chip is primarily used for autonomous driving and the Optimus humanoid robot. Additionally, last summer Tesla signed a $16.5 billion agreement with Samsung to manufacture the AI6 chip for vehicles, robots, and data centers. Musk noted that the future AI7 or Dojo3 will focus on space applications, describing it as a high-risk, high-aspiration long-term initiative. Tesla is currently reorganizing its team, with Musk personally recruiting engineers to join the development effort.