Best Podcast Episodes About Tesla
Everything podcasters are saying about Tesla — curated from top podcasts
Updated: Apr 27, 2026 – 66 episodes
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Ridealong has curated the best and most interesting podcasts and clips about Tesla.
Top Podcast Clips About Tesla
“… a major thing when they bring that technology overseas. Current top-tier public charging is 400 kilowatts. Networks like Ionity, Fastned, and even Tesla's V4s. BYD's chargers, even if they start them off at 1,000 kilowatts, megawatt charging. It's a three-fold increase on anything else that we've got. Even on a 280kVA transformer, you can put those in the ground. So let's finish off. The March event demonstrated the breadth of in-house operations, the cell chemistry, the pack design, the vehicle platforms now running at 1,000 volts. the megawatt charging, the on-site energy storage, even LiDAR …”
“… The actual connector from Phoenix Contact will do a boost mode to 1,000 kilowatts. It's rated at 800 kilowatts continuous, but after five minutes, I mean, how much heat are you generating? So the elimination of the two-gun workaround is a major thing when they bring that technology overseas. Current top-tier public charging is 400 kilowatts. Networks like Ionity, Fastned, and even Tesla's V4s. BYD's chargers, even if they start them off at 1,000 kilowatts, megawatt charging. It's a three-fold increase on anything else that we've got. Even on a 280kVA transformer, you can put those in the ground. So let's finish off. The March event demonstrated the breadth of in-house operations, the cell chemistry, the pack design, the vehicle platforms now running at 1,000 volts. the megawatt charging, the on-site energy storage, even LiDAR and ADAS. BYD's station-within-a-station model, where they have battery storage on-site, is the most strategically important announcement, I believe, because they can go to existing charging sites where they have chargers in the ground, maybe with a smaller grid connection, and build a standalone station that's ready to plug and play. If the 97% in …”
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Ridealong summary
BYD's new charging technology could redefine electric vehicle refueling, boasting speeds up to 1,000 kilowatts—three times faster than current leaders. With a strategic plan to roll out 20,000 stations in China and thousands more overseas, they aim to establish a benchmark that no other major car manufacturer can currently match. This ambitious expansion hinges on overcoming regulatory hurdles and securing optimal charging site partnerships.
“… to tell you about it. His car is, like, broken down. He's laying on the ground, so he pulls over on the highway to help him. Luckily, he drives a Tesla and has a camera. The other dude just started beating the crap out of him. The guy jumps up from the ground. He, like, lured him in, hit it. I saw a car crash. I saw a door open. So being a good person, any human being would see, he would just pull over to check. As Hamilton parks his Tesla, the man in the red T-shirt appeared to be lying motionless on the ground. Hey, are you okay? Are you okay? No response. As soon as I opened that car door, …”
“… thought they literally got altitude poisoning or sick. And they're going, oh, my God. That's me? I had to be rescued. Yeah. So what's wrong with people? What's wrong with people? I have another one. This guy in Florida, he saw a guy, and he's going to tell you about it. His car is, like, broken down. He's laying on the ground, so he pulls over on the highway to help him. Luckily, he drives a Tesla and has a camera. The other dude just started beating the crap out of him. The guy jumps up from the ground. He, like, lured him in, hit it. I saw a car crash. I saw a door open. So being a good person, any human being would see, he would just pull over to check. As Hamilton parks his Tesla, the man in the red T-shirt appeared to be lying motionless on the ground. Hey, are you okay? Are you okay? No response. As soon as I opened that car door, he was off that ground. So he was waiting. This video from a camera in his car shows the man hop on the hood of the Tesla, and he starts stomping on the windshield. Pulled me out of my car. As I was falling backwards, he was jumping off the roof on top of me. Deputies arrested Komen for battery and criminal mischief for what he did to Hamilton and …”
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In a shocking twist, Everest guides were poisoning climbers to trigger costly helicopter rescues and split the insurance payouts! The absurdity peaks when a good Samaritan gets attacked by a fake victim on the highway, proving that sometimes trying to help can lead to chaos.
“… like expanding the probe. And then the other news that came out today is that there is a family of a Wisconsin couple who died last year after their Tesla caught fire or actually suing Tesla because they say that they were unable to, there were actually five people in that car, and they say they were unable to escape because the door handles got stuck or didn't work. The lawsuit claims Tesla's door design trapped the couple inside the burning car. The family is seeking to hold Tesla accountable for allegedly designing vehicles that make survivable crashes fatal. That's horrible. It's like, looks …”
“… the news this morning is that the NHTSA the US regulator put out a letter that said that they have gotten even more complaints from consumers about the store handle issues since they first announced their probe a few weeks ago So they're basically like expanding the probe. And then the other news that came out today is that there is a family of a Wisconsin couple who died last year after their Tesla caught fire or actually suing Tesla because they say that they were unable to, there were actually five people in that car, and they say they were unable to escape because the door handles got stuck or didn't work. The lawsuit claims Tesla's door design trapped the couple inside the burning car. The family is seeking to hold Tesla accountable for allegedly designing vehicles that make survivable crashes fatal. That's horrible. It's like, looks cool, But yeah, you can get trapped in it, you know, if your car is on fire. Maybe not worth the cool design to not be able to open your door. Yeah, and I think there's a sort of interesting balance.”
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Ridealong summary
Tesla faces serious scrutiny after a tragic incident where a couple died in a fire because they couldn't escape their car due to malfunctioning door handles. This has led to a lawsuit claiming that Tesla's design makes survivable crashes fatal, highlighting the ongoing debate about safety versus aesthetics in automotive design. As regulators in the U.S. expand their investigation, the implications for Tesla's future could be significant.
“… the functions of entire software companies. Yeah, that initiative, which is also known as Digital Optimus, is basically a joint venture between Tesla and XAI. Right. And they are blending physical automotive hardware with high-level reasoning models to actually perform digital labor. So how does an electric vehicle manufacturer transform its infrastructure into a provider of autonomous white-collar workers? Well, the architecture of this system, it mimics human cognition by using a dual process model. Okay. Dual process meaning two parts. Exactly. It relies on two complementary systems …”
“Elon Musk's new project, MacroHard, uses an artificial intelligence system to completely automate and replace the functions of entire software companies. Yeah, that initiative, which is also known as Digital Optimus, is basically a joint venture between Tesla and XAI. Right. And they are blending physical automotive hardware with high-level reasoning models to actually perform digital labor. So how does an electric vehicle manufacturer transform its infrastructure into a provider of autonomous white-collar workers? Well, the architecture of this system, it mimics human cognition by using a dual process model. Okay. Dual process meaning two parts. Exactly. It relies on two complementary systems working together to emulate how a person approaches a complex task. So System 2 is XAI's Grok model. You can think of Grok as the thinking brain. It handles the strategic planning, the high-level reasoning, and the overarching navigation of whatever complex workflow needs to be done. So if you assign the system a massive project, like reconciling a …”
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The entanglement between Tesla and XAI, along with shareholder lawsuits, poses a significant threat to the survival of Musk's AI projects.
The entanglement between Tesla and XAI, along with regulatory scrutiny, poses a significant threat to the survival of their AI projects.
“… costs are going up tying it to upgrades in safety driving control intelligent features quality and manufacturing complexity Even so, the gap to the Tesla Model 3 is still 5,600 RMB. In China's EV market, final retail prices often come in below the pre-sale figure. It's a really common market strategy. Your pre-sale price is one. When the vehicle arrives, you bring it in at a lower price. Everyone raves. It's a nice little bonus, and everyone pays the lower price. And so those that got in early get a nice little feel-good bump and save themselves some money. Very common strategy and tactic. …”
“… Pro and Max trims. Pre-sale prices run from 230,000 yuan. Xiaomi opened pre-sales in January with a starting price of effectively about 33,500 US equivalent. That 6 up on the old model Le Jeune said the retail prices will rise because production costs are going up tying it to upgrades in safety driving control intelligent features quality and manufacturing complexity Even so, the gap to the Tesla Model 3 is still 5,600 RMB. In China's EV market, final retail prices often come in below the pre-sale figure. It's a really common market strategy. Your pre-sale price is one. When the vehicle arrives, you bring it in at a lower price. Everyone raves. It's a nice little bonus, and everyone pays the lower price. And so those that got in early get a nice little feel-good bump and save themselves some money. Very common strategy and tactic. That'll happen here again. That matters because the SU-7 is in the heart of China's premium EV sedan segment. It's up against Tesla, NIO, Zika. in that kind of 33,000 to 44,000 US equivalent price bracket.”
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Xiaomi has accelerated the launch of its updated SU7 electric sedan to March, with mass deliveries set to begin soon. The company aims to produce 16,000 units this month, competing directly with Tesla and other premium EVs in China, while also employing a strategic pricing tactic that could lower retail prices below pre-sale figures. This approach not only boosts early customer satisfaction but also positions Xiaomi strongly in the competitive EV market.
“… involving Autopilot, a lawyer can look at this case and say, I don't need to prove my client was a perfect, flawless driver. I just need to prove Tesla hasn't fixed the systemic issues identified in the Benevides case. It completely shifts the leverage. It does. Suddenly, settling cases quietly becomes much more attractive for Tesla than rolling the dice with a jury that might hand out another quarter billion dollar punishment. And you have to remember, punitive damages are not insurable in many jurisdictions. Oh, wow. I didn't realize that. Yeah. That money comes straight off the bottom line. …”
“And Judge Bloom's strong denial here really helps ensure that it becomes a roadmap. A roadmap for every other plaintiff lawyer in the country. Exactly, because now every time there is a crash involving Autopilot, a lawyer can look at this case and say, I don't need to prove my client was a perfect, flawless driver. I just need to prove Tesla hasn't fixed the systemic issues identified in the Benevides case. It completely shifts the leverage. It does. Suddenly, settling cases quietly becomes much more attractive for Tesla than rolling the dice with a jury that might hand out another quarter billion dollar punishment. And you have to remember, punitive damages are not insurable in many jurisdictions. Oh, wow. I didn't realize that. Yeah. That money comes straight off the bottom line. Let's go back to Judge Bloom's specific phrasing for a second, because I want to make sure we're totally clear. She mentioned the lack of controlling law to support Tesla's request. What does she actually mean by that in this context? She means Tesla couldn't point to a statute or a binding Supreme Court or a circuit court's decision that says, if …”
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Tesla faces a staggering $243 million liability after a judge upheld a ruling that shifts the responsibility for crashes involving Autopilot technology. This pivotal moment in February 2026 indicates a legal shift where manufacturers are held accountable for their products, even if the driver shares fault. The courts are redefining the relationship between technology and liability, signaling a new era for automakers.
“Use them because you will get insights so much faster than the data can get to you to give you insights. And it was true. And so when I started at Tesla, we were having a super big problem producing Model Xs and getting the Falcon Wing doors to fit. And Elon and I had shared this favorite book, The Goal, which is all about manufacturing process. And he grabbed me one day, he said, okay, the goal guy, come on, we're going down the line.”
Ridealong summary
Elon Musk and Jon McNeill tackled a major production hurdle at Tesla: fitting the Falcon Wing doors on the Model X. Inspired by the book 'The Goal,' Musk's hands-on approach led them to rethink their manufacturing process, showcasing the power of insights over data. This unconventional strategy was pivotal in overcoming their production challenges.
“… your door. They'll rave about it. You might spend on marketing, et cetera. And you think about some really successful companies. So take Apple take Tesla They don have like a hundred varieties of their product They got like three And the reason is it really really much simpler to get a supply chain producing those three to get factories producing those to market them to sell them to distribute them etc And so simplicity like really, really, really pays in product businesses. Totally. If you have the discipline around it. Uh, and so like Tesla has one car of the model Y that sells 1.4 million …”
“So in growing a company, like I think product is at the core of every company. And if you have amazing product, people will beat a path to your door. They'll rave about it. You might spend on marketing, et cetera. And you think about some really successful companies. So take Apple take Tesla They don have like a hundred varieties of their product They got like three And the reason is it really really much simpler to get a supply chain producing those three to get factories producing those to market them to sell them to distribute them etc And so simplicity like really, really, really pays in product businesses. Totally. If you have the discipline around it. Uh, and so like Tesla has one car of the model Y that sells 1.4 million units a year. And it's the best selling car in the world. They don't have 10 or 15 different models. How many does it sell? 1.4 million units. Still? Still. Now, even with all the, even with all the stuff going on. The craziness? Even with all the craziness. Of Elon? It's still selling that many? Yeah. It's still the number one single selling car in …”
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Tesla's Model Y sells 1.4 million units a year because the company focuses on simplicity, offering just a few core products instead of overwhelming options. Jon McNeill, former president of Tesla, emphasizes that this approach streamlines production and distribution, making it easier to dominate the market. This philosophy of 'less is more' is crucial for sustainable growth in any business.
“Well, I mean, at Tesla, you were there as the company grew in order of magnitude. So you saw two very different versions of the company. So I imagine some lessons from when Tesla crossed 100,000 people are less relevant to you. In the early days, it was flatter, obviously, as you would expect, because once you get to 130,000, 140,000 people, you have to start to layer in some structure. I mean, you have massive groups of people who are working on factory floors who …”
“Well, I mean, at Tesla, you were there as the company grew in order of magnitude. So you saw two very different versions of the company. So I imagine some lessons from when Tesla crossed 100,000 people are less relevant to you. In the early days, it was flatter, obviously, as you would expect, because once you get to 130,000, 140,000 people, you have to start to layer in some structure. I mean, you have massive groups of people who are working on factory floors who are less involved in design decisions. Yeah, and so those organizations stayed flat and nimble and still are to this day. But I don't think there's any, because I actually believe in most of how Tesla was running. I think that it's just there's little tweaks that you can make along the way that enable you to make it more sustainable for the teams. …”
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SpaceX's approach to rapid iteration on the Starship program reveals a crucial strategy: questioning every design requirement. By leveraging existing hardware from the Booster project, they avoided lengthy redesigns and expedited production. This mindset not only streamlined their processes but also ensured that solutions remained simple, fast, and cost-effective.
“… been a car executive, right? You had been an entrepreneur. Up until that point, you had started and sold something like six startups before joining Tesla. Yeah, yeah. I'm curious, you know, how was that experience different from what it was going to be like at Tesla? You're going into a company. You're working for Musk. How is that different? I've been a CEO through those six companies. So I hadn't like supported it in myself in a long time. And so I had to learn to be a subordinate. And that was really in support of a CEO. And so all the times that I was asking teams to do unreasonable things …”
“But first, let's just kind of get into your mindset as you joined the company because you had not been a car executive, right? You had been an entrepreneur. Up until that point, you had started and sold something like six startups before joining Tesla. Yeah, yeah. I'm curious, you know, how was that experience different from what it was going to be like at Tesla? You're going into a company. You're working for Musk. How is that different? I've been a CEO through those six companies. So I hadn't like supported it in myself in a long time. And so I had to learn to be a subordinate. And that was really in support of a CEO. And so all the times that I was asking teams to do unreasonable things for me as a CEO, the payback was almost sudden and instant as I stepped into that job. and I think you know Musk hires orthogonally in the sense that he doesn't hire people from the industry because he wants fresh thinking that is not weighed down by by old constructs the head of supply chain came from Apple the head of the head of battery cell …”
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At Tesla, teams learned the hard way that flexibility is crucial on the factory floor. By not bolting machines down during optimization experiments, they could easily adapt processes until they found the best solutions. This lesson highlights the importance of experimentation and adaptability in manufacturing success.
“… So example of that is we're trying to sell $100,000 things online. Nobody had done that before, sight unseen. And it took 64 clicks to buy Tesla. And 44 of those clicks were in the auto loan and auto lease documents. And it turns out an auto loan document is 12 pages of paragraph after paragraph after paragraph of how the bank's going to basically kill you if you don't pay. And so I asked the lawyers, can you come back to me and tell me how many of these paragraphs are a requirement of law or regulation? They came back not much longer, not much time later, and they said, none. And I …”
“… simplify. So the first one is you question every requirement you're given. Is it a requirement of physics Is it a requirement of safety Is it a requirement of law And if you can answer yes to those questions then you got to consider deleting that requirement So example of that is we're trying to sell $100,000 things online. Nobody had done that before, sight unseen. And it took 64 clicks to buy Tesla. And 44 of those clicks were in the auto loan and auto lease documents. And it turns out an auto loan document is 12 pages of paragraph after paragraph after paragraph of how the bank's going to basically kill you if you don't pay. And so I asked the lawyers, can you come back to me and tell me how many of these paragraphs are a requirement of law or regulation? They came back not much longer, not much time later, and they said, none. And I said, what do you mean? They said, none. All of this stuff, all these paragraphs were inserted by well-meaning corporate lawyers who are trying to save their company's necks, and none of this is a requirement of law. And I said, so literally I could get down to a one page or maybe a one paragraph loan that said, here's how much the car is. Here's how …”
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Ridealong summary
Tesla revolutionized decision-making by questioning every requirement, leading to significant simplifications. For example, they reduced a 64-click online car purchase process down to just four sentences by eliminating unnecessary legal jargon. This approach not only streamlined operations but also boosted sales of their $100,000 vehicles.
“I won the pre-show game of who can pick 13 of 16 Sweet 16 teams correctly, so I'm up first. And my winner of the weekend is Tesla because though it's disinterested in selling cars these days, it is interested in selling semis. The company plans to deliver between 5,000 and 15,000 semi-trucks by year's end. This has been a long time coming. Tesla first announced the all-electric semi nearly a decade ago. But then Elon got distracted by robots and cybercabs and the project quietly collected dust. But maybe it was worth the wait because truckers who have gotten a chance to …”
“I won the pre-show game of who can pick 13 of 16 Sweet 16 teams correctly, so I'm up first. And my winner of the weekend is Tesla because though it's disinterested in selling cars these days, it is interested in selling semis. The company plans to deliver between 5,000 and 15,000 semi-trucks by year's end. This has been a long time coming. Tesla first announced the all-electric semi nearly a decade ago. But then Elon got distracted by robots and cybercabs and the project quietly collected dust. But maybe it was worth the wait because truckers who have gotten a chance to test drive it love it. They called out the centered driving position, faster charging, and longer range as positives. Dakota Shearer, a trucker for IMC Logistics, told the Wall Street Journal that he got stuck on a tight bend his first time out in the truck while towing a 40-foot trailer. Normally, that meant hopping out of the cab multiple times to …”
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Tesla's all-electric semi-truck is finally set for delivery, promising a revolutionary shift in the trucking industry. With a longer range and faster charging than competitors, truckers are excited about its benefits, including reduced stress and improved safety. As diesel prices soar, many trucking companies are looking to electric vehicles for cost savings, making Tesla's semi a timely solution.
“… of sand. That skepticism is entirely warranted if they were doing it completely alone, but TerraFab relies on a hybrid model. How does that work? Tesla is supplying massive capital and extreme volume demand while partnering with established foundries to utilize their existing process technology. So they're not inventing the manufacturing process from scratch. No, not at all. They are providing the billions of dollars and the guaranteed demand to accelerate a partner's existing technology roadmap on a dedicated line. Exactly. When you are projecting a need for hundreds of billions of chips for …”
“… car company attempting to run a 2 nanometer fab. It is highly improbable they can spin up a pristine cleanroom environment and start churning out perfectly etched silicon wafers without massive yield issues. They would just be printing expensive pieces of sand. That skepticism is entirely warranted if they were doing it completely alone, but TerraFab relies on a hybrid model. How does that work? Tesla is supplying massive capital and extreme volume demand while partnering with established foundries to utilize their existing process technology. So they're not inventing the manufacturing process from scratch. No, not at all. They are providing the billions of dollars and the guaranteed demand to accelerate a partner's existing technology roadmap on a dedicated line. Exactly. When you are projecting a need for hundreds of billions of chips for autonomous vehicles, robots, and satellites, you simply cannot wait in line behind Apple and NVIDIA for manufacturing capacity. You have to fund your own line. The consequence here alters the core business model of vehicle manufacturing. By funding their own silicon production, they insulate themselves from global supply chain shocks and create a …”
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Tesla's TeraFab project is crucial for overcoming future supply constraints in specialized AI chips, enabling energy-efficient edge computing for millions of robots.
The massive scale of TeraFab's financial commitment requires serious pause as it challenges the established semiconductor giants and could alter the global tech economy.
“Tesla is planning a $20 billion facility called the TerraFab project to manufacture its own 2 nanometer AI chips, aiming to produce up to 200 billion AI and memory chips annually. I mean, the sheer scale of that hardware target, it just requires a complete recalibration of how we view this company. We are looking at an objective of 100,000 wafer starts per month. And a wafer, just for context, is that large, completely pure silicon disk that they, …”
“Tesla is planning a $20 billion facility called the TerraFab project to manufacture its own 2 nanometer AI chips, aiming to produce up to 200 billion AI and memory chips annually. I mean, the sheer scale of that hardware target, it just requires a complete recalibration of how we view this company. We are looking at an objective of 100,000 wafer starts per month. And a wafer, just for context, is that large, completely pure silicon disk that they, you know, carve the individual chips out of. Right, exactly. And $100,000 a month means they want to operate at the absolute limits of global volume. It is one single organization attempting to own every conceivable layer of artificial intelligence. Yeah, they want to control the physical silicon beneath the systems, the data processing pipeline, and …”
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Tesla's TeraFab project aims for unprecedented vertical integration in AI chip manufacturing, but faces skepticism due to its lack of semiconductor experience.
Tesla's attempt to own the entire AI ecosystem, including unproven 2-nanometer chip factories, raises questions about the impact on the global economy and the feasibility of such ambitious projects.
“of its value since peaking back in 2024. Let's wrap the show with a fun fact. Tesla semi-trucks are about to hit the road. Finally. After years of delays, Tesla will be delivering its electric semi-trucks this summer and apparently truckers seem to love this thing. The Wall Street Journal talked to some drivers who tested some pilot models, and they were raving about it. Now, besides the fact that this truck is electric, there are some other key design changes. For one, drivers sit in the center of the cab, kind of like a F1 …”
“of its value since peaking back in 2024. Let's wrap the show with a fun fact. Tesla semi-trucks are about to hit the road. Finally. After years of delays, Tesla will be delivering its electric semi-trucks this summer and apparently truckers seem to love this thing. The Wall Street Journal talked to some drivers who tested some pilot models, and they were raving about it. Now, besides the fact that this truck is electric, there are some other key design changes. For one, drivers sit in the center of the cab, kind of like a F1 car, and there are screens on both sides showing everything around the truck. So that basically eliminates blind spots, which is a pretty big deal. Also, being electric makes these trucks easier to drive compared to a diesel truck. On top of that, electric trucks have way fewer moving parts, so maintenance costs should drop significantly. The semi …”
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Ridealong summary
Tesla's electric semi-trucks are set to revolutionize trucking with their unique design and impressive capabilities. Drivers will enjoy a central cab position with screens eliminating blind spots, making it easier to drive than traditional diesel trucks. With a price tag of $300,000 and a range of 500 miles on a single charge, Tesla aims to deliver up to 15,000 trucks this year, paving the way for future autonomous driving.
“… ton of money which is probably super helpful yeah so glad that a little company like starbucks can just like roll it you know um but so uh yeah the tesla activation was right across from our hotel so we came back and there was this flatbed truck with a big glass box and the cyber cap inside of it yeah i guess they had a bunch of teslas in this parking lot they had model threes the new model y the cyber truck and then they had one trailer in the corner pulled by a matte black cyber truck that was like clear that had a single it was pulled by cyber truck i thought it was just a flatbed oh wow yes …”
“All of Austin was an activation. Literally, the coffee shop we went to had ads on our cups. Everything is an activation. This is what happened to Coachella, too, man. the local businesses probably made a ton of money which is probably super helpful yeah so glad that a little company like starbucks can just like roll it you know um but so uh yeah the tesla activation was right across from our hotel so we came back and there was this flatbed truck with a big glass box and the cyber cap inside of it yeah i guess they had a bunch of teslas in this parking lot they had model threes the new model y the cyber truck and then they had one trailer in the corner pulled by a matte black cyber truck that was like clear that had a single it was pulled by cyber truck i thought it was just a flatbed oh wow yes that yeah see there is a whole activation you missed it so uh they had the little cyber cab in there someone actually on twitter pointed out that that's the same clear trailer they use to bring around i think a model y when it first got unveiled and they had like the tape that they had like pulled the model y off but you could still see the outline …”
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Tesla's upcoming Robo Taxi, a modified Model Y, is set to revolutionize ridesharing by eliminating the need for a steering wheel or mirrors, expected to hit the market in 2026. During SXSW, a prototype Cyber Cab was spotted on the streets of Austin, stirring excitement and confusion about its features and functionality. This marks a significant step in Tesla's vision for autonomous transportation, as people witnessed it driving around, albeit slowly, without a driver.
“… And so Samsung is stepping up and they're announcing that, hey, we're going to put another 70 billion to work on this particular business. So Tesla has been working with Samsung on the foundry side in AI for a while. So Samsung's never really been on the frontier with a direct competitor to the H100 or the Blackwell chip. That's been more of like AMD's game and AMD also fabs a TSMC. So there hasn't really been this like neck and neck battle between TSMC and Samsung. But it's like you can do AI inference on a Samsung chip. And we know that because Tesla went to Samsung years ago and said, …”
“… They're incredibly important in the AI build-out. But if TSMC is bottlenecked and TSMC is sort of risk-off and they're not going to be guiding to insane CapEx numbers while every American hyperscaler is, Well, that creates an opportunity for Samsung. And so Samsung is stepping up and they're announcing that, hey, we're going to put another 70 billion to work on this particular business. So Tesla has been working with Samsung on the foundry side in AI for a while. So Samsung's never really been on the frontier with a direct competitor to the H100 or the Blackwell chip. That's been more of like AMD's game and AMD also fabs a TSMC. So there hasn't really been this like neck and neck battle between TSMC and Samsung. But it's like you can do AI inference on a Samsung chip. And we know that because Tesla went to Samsung years ago and said, we need a chip that can take in pictures from the road, decide where the lines are, decide. They want their chips with the dip. They want their chips with the dip. And now Samsung does too. That's all you know. And so the FSD system, if you have a Tesla, you might be familiar with like HW3, Hardware 3.”
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Samsung is investing $70 billion to advance its AI chip capabilities, positioning itself as a key player in the AI market. Despite being second to TSMC in semiconductors, Samsung's historical expertise in high bandwidth memory and partnerships with companies like Tesla show they are not sitting on the sidelines. This investment could create new opportunities for Samsung as it seeks to compete directly in AI chip production.
“… nanometer, the crazy frontier stuff, but it's working and it's on the road. And according to a US regulatory probe, there were 3.2 million vehicles, Teslas, on the road in America with FSD systems that were basically all running Samsung chips inside. And so now to be clear Tesla just like any foundation model lab company they have training and then they also have inference They a little bit different than many of the labs that you know and love because they do training in a data center using what's called the Dojo chip, and that is fabbed at TSMC. But so they train the system. They take all the …”
“And it was fabbed on Samsung's 14 nanometer process, which is a lagging node. We're not in the three nanometer, the crazy frontier stuff, but it's working and it's on the road. And according to a US regulatory probe, there were 3.2 million vehicles, Teslas, on the road in America with FSD systems that were basically all running Samsung chips inside. And so now to be clear Tesla just like any foundation model lab company they have training and then they also have inference They a little bit different than many of the labs that you know and love because they do training in a data center using what's called the Dojo chip, and that is fabbed at TSMC. But so they train the system. They take all the data in from every Tesla camera, every road, all the information that they have. Every time that there's a disengagement, that's feedback to the reinforcement learning system. It says, hey, we were in FSD mode, but then someone grabbed the wheel or someone stepped on the brakes. You made a mistake. Understand what happened to get you to that point …”
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Tesla vehicles on the road are powered by Samsung chips, showcasing a crucial partnership in the automotive tech landscape. While Tesla trains its AI models using TSMC chips, it deploys them on Samsung's hardware, highlighting a unique collaboration that could impact future chip production amid rising geopolitical tensions. This relationship underscores the importance of diversified chip sourcing for tech companies.
“And this is like a future that feels like a little bit like science fiction. Look, we're here in Austin. You got to do the shout out to Tesla and all the things because I like to sort of break down the physical AI stack includes not just like, oh yeah, computation, and I've got to have physical AI models, and I've got to do all the things you sort of think of. What about land development? That should be in that stack. What about chemistry? That needs to be in the stack. Manufacturing needs to be a stack. When you look at the stack, you're like, damn, Tesla's got this. They are the …”
“And this is like a future that feels like a little bit like science fiction. Look, we're here in Austin. You got to do the shout out to Tesla and all the things because I like to sort of break down the physical AI stack includes not just like, oh yeah, computation, and I've got to have physical AI models, and I've got to do all the things you sort of think of. What about land development? That should be in that stack. What about chemistry? That needs to be in the stack. Manufacturing needs to be a stack. When you look at the stack, you're like, damn, Tesla's got this. They are the Google of this era, which is what I mean by that is in the 2000s, if you were doing a startup in the 2000s, the first question you would get is, why isn't Google going to kill you? Or why isn't Google just going to do it? They're not going to know that they killed you. And before that, Microsoft. And before that was Microsoft, the late 90s. Uber had …”
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Ridealong summary
Travis Kalanick argues that Tesla is becoming the Google of the physical AI era, dominating the landscape much like tech giants did in the past. He highlights the challenges and opportunities in the self-driving space, comparing competitors like Waymo and Uber while emphasizing the urgency for innovation. This moment could signal a transformative shift in how we interact with autonomous systems.
“… the engineer on, is he goes to fix that bottleneck. And he does that every week for every company, right? And so think about what that, this is why Tesla is smoking, is like, has been so much dramatically outperforming the rest of the auto industry is because Tesla, he's fixing the critical production bottleneck at Tesla 52 times a year himself. I can tell you what the CEO of the legacy automakers are doing. Like they're not doing that. That is not what's happening, right? And so in contrast, like a normal company, it might take six months to solve these problems. And Elon's like fixing it like …”
“… maps out the production process. He literally has these monitors where he has the whole thing laid out. And then he basically says, okay, this is the issue that's holding up production this week. And that's the thing that he goes to work with the engineer on, is he goes to fix that bottleneck. And he does that every week for every company, right? And so think about what that, this is why Tesla is smoking, is like, has been so much dramatically outperforming the rest of the auto industry is because Tesla, he's fixing the critical production bottleneck at Tesla 52 times a year himself. I can tell you what the CEO of the legacy automakers are doing. Like they're not doing that. That is not what's happening, right? And so in contrast, like a normal company, it might take six months to solve these problems. And Elon's like fixing it like right now, tomorrow. Like, let's go fix it right now. And so he just like runs this loop over and over again. He's just, he's absolutely indefatigable. I offered, he famously for a while, he had sold all of his houses and he was literally cuff surfing. You know, it's one of the most successful people on the planet. And so I have a vacation house …”
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Ridealong summary
Elon Musk tackles production bottlenecks weekly, ensuring Tesla outpaces competitors. By meticulously mapping production processes and addressing issues in real-time, he transforms the way companies operate. This relentless focus on efficiency is why Tesla thrives while traditional automakers struggle.
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