Part 5/10:
Building a semiconductor fab is notoriously capital intensive and slow to ramp up. Tesla's move is fraught with challenges: massive upfront costs, lengthy development timelines, and fierce competition from established players like TSMC and Intel.
Some analysts interpret Tesla’s foray not necessarily as a bid to compete directly, but rather as a strategic move to bolster its negotiating leverage, secure critical supply, and develop tailored chips optimized for AI and robotics workloads. Elon Musk's focus on a streamlined, high-performance AI chip design—like the upcoming AI5, AI6, and beyond—is evidence of Tesla’s commitment.