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Inside Rivian’s plan to challenge Detroit and electrify the American truck & SUV
Nearly one year ago, McLaren’s top engineer departed the British supercar-maker for a relatively unknown EV startup, Rivian, located 3,000 miles away in Plymouth, Michigan. That engineer, Mark Vinnels, was a founding board member of McLaren and led its engineering team as executive program director for 14 years as they created an entire line of supercars from the ground up. While leaving ultra-high-performance supercars behind seemed crazy at the time, a whole band of McLaren engineers have now followed Vinnels to build world-class electric SUVs and pickups at Rivian.
When Rivian’s CEO, RJ Scaringe, hired Vinnels last November as Executive Director of Engineering and Programs, he tasked him with a familiar mission: build a world-class team and bring their first vehicles to production. Now, Scaringe and Vinnels have attracted engineers across the entire industry, including a whole host of fellow ex-McLaren engineers. From exterior lighting to software and electric propulsion, Rivian’s British talent runs deep.
“These are all truly world-class people, and we had a great team (at McLaren) and we were able to do great things,” Vinnels told Teslarati. “I think a lot of them were motivated in exactly the same way I was.”
Vinnels landed himself at Rivian after a mutual friend, and Rivian board member, Antony Sheriff, insisted that he meet with Scaringe and see what Rivian was working on. “I was super impressed with what I saw, with him (Scaringe) as an individual, and the vision for the company,” he recalled. “From a personal perspective, I had a really interesting opportunity to be involved in something pretty groundbreaking, again.”
While Vinnels had received a variety of job offers from startups over the years, he was particularly impressed by Rivian’s technical achievements and level of funding available. “The concepts were pretty advanced, in terms of the battery, package, detail of the module,” Vinnels said.
Rivian has raised $500M to date from a variety of equity and debt investors. The company has largely been quiet about specific funding deals, but its’ main backers include Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, a US branch of a Japanese conglomerate, and Abdul Latif Jameel, a Saudi Arabia-based family-owned business with close ties to Toyota.
Since Vinnels joined last year, three VPs and three directors have left McLaren to join Rivian, along with several other engineers. While some of these new hires have moved to Rivian’s hubs in the US, the company has recently opened up a development center in the UK.
“The type of people at McLaren are naturally attracted to companies like Rivian, because it’s all about innovation, breaking new ground, doing stuff that is new. How do you attract interesting, dynamic, well-educated engineers; give them great interesting, intellectual, challenging technical problems and a respectable amount of funding to achieve their goals,” Vinnels said. “I think that’s why these people are attracted to what we are doing here. It’s kind of flattering and nice that these guys are making the same decision that I did to come over and work on this great program.”
According to some within Rivian, the biggest recruiting weapon Rivian possesses is Scaringe himself. “People come into the company and they spend ten minutes with him (Scaringe) and they’re sold,” Michael McHale, Director of Corporate Communications at Rivian, said. Vinnels claimed a similar effect on recruiting and building supplier relationships.
“They all love the idea of what we are doing,” Scaringe stated in an interview with Teslarati in July. While building supercars seems like an engineer’s dream job, Scaringe found that many see, “the appeal of doing something that is larger volume and a different performance segment.”
With production of their first two cars looming around the corner, Rivian has ramped up hiring significantly, more than doubling their headcount since the start of the year to approximately 500. In addition to hires from McLaren, Rivian has a significant number of people from Tesla, Faraday Future, and the big three Detroit automakers.
Vinnels’ team is tasked with delivering Rivian’s newly developed “flexible electric platform” to market. The skateboard-like architecture, will not only underpin Rivian’s first two vehicles, an SUV and pick-up truck but another four vehicles in development. The overarching design of all-electric platforms is becoming quite standard in the industry, but the intricate engineering within the platform is where the real magic lies.
While Rivian’s battery management systems and module design were nearly complete when Vinnels joined last year, the suspension, motors, and gearbox have undergone a redesign to squeeze out better performance and efficiency. “We can have such a broad breadth of performance, without traditional compromises (compared to internal combustion engines) and a (higher) level of refinement,” Vinnels said.
Rather than spending hundreds of millions of dollars on building their own factory, Rivian has decided to acquire an existing automotive factory. Rivian purchased a former Mitsubishi factory and all of its contents in January 2017 for $16M. The purchase price represents just 1% of the $1.6B investment (in 2018 dollars) Mitsubishi and Chrysler made building the facility in 1988. The plant houses stamping presses, paint lines, body assembly, general assembly, and a few other sub-assemblies. Even in its heyday, the factory never reached its peak production capacity, which is thought to be above 300,000 vehicles per year.
The company’s plant in Normal, IL saw its last vehicle, a Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, roll off the production line in November 2015. But the plant hasn’t been entirely quiet since then. Rivian first occupied the plant in January 2017 and has 65 employees actively maintaining and preparing the facility for production.
This June, Vinnels was splitting his time between engineering meetings and preparing to start “virtual production” at their 2.6M ft² factory. The “virtual production” exercise allows the nearly 100 people from the engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain teams to walk through every part of the manufacturing process before equipment installation is finalized, spotting any potential issues before they arise in production. Rivian completes this on a monthly basis and often includes several suppliers.
“We’ve got enough detail now to discuss and explain with the manufacturing guys exactly how this vehicle will come together on a component level,” Vinnels explained. “So we start with pretty much the first component, for us its some of the components on the body-in-white and we build up exactly how it be built in the production line.” The process reviews each component on a detailed level from design, materials, and build sequence.
At the moment, Rivian is working on refreshing the facility’s stamping lines and plans to overhaul the body lines and paint lines throughout next year. Scaringe stated that the total renovation of the factory will cost roughly $150M.
In preparation for full production at their factory, Rivian has set up a pilot battery-module production line in their Irvine, CA development facility. Scaringe stated that Rivian plans to start production of their battery modules ahead of vehicle production. The company developed their battery modules from the ground up, including the microchips that run their proprietary battery management system. When production spools up, Rivian plans on producing the battery pack from the module level up in their facility in Normal, IL.
Rivian’s battery module is made up of the same sized battery cells that Tesla uses in the Model 3, commonly referred to as 2170, but the physical configuration of the cells differs quite a bit. Though the module is significantly thicker than Tesla’s, with two cells stacked on top of each other, it’s more energy dense by volume and weight. Separating the two levels of cells is Rivian’s cooling systems. Scaringe credits the module’s unique packaging and their custom battery management system for improving efficiency and performance.
The company has declined to give specific production targets, but stated production volume of their first two vehicles would be in the “tens of thousands.” With plenty of room to grow in their current facility, Rivian plans on steadily growing their production volume over the next decade into “hundreds of thousands.”
Just two years ago, when Lucid Motors and Faraday Future were the talk of the town, very few people in the industry had ever even heard of Rivian. Today, the company is considered far more likely to reach production than those same peers. Unlike other automotive startups, Rivian has a sizeable automotive production facility (Faraday Future’s facility was previously a tire factory and has been largely empty for 20 years) and claims to have a more stable source of financing.
From the get-go, Scaringe knew that he would need to find a unique funding strategy to turn his vision into a reality. Instinctively, he leaned on his alma mater, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), to find potential funding partners. After finding a few potential like-minded partners, Scaringe landed on a partnership with ALJ (Abdul Latif Jameel). ALJ’s owner and chairman, Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, is an MIT alumnus, major donor to the school, and a lifetime member of the MIT Corporation.
Rivian has picked up other investors along the way, but after gaining the backing from ALJ, Scaringe focused quite solely on developing the necessary technology and a go-to-market plan that would differentiate the company.
“They’re (Rivian’s investors) committed to allowing us to continue on the steady path of building the business and launching the product,” Scaringe stated. “It’s precisely what’s allowed us to be so quiet, and not have to be out publicly trying to strum up investor dollars; we can be more focused on what we are doing.”
With Rivian’s roots dating back nearly a decade, Scaringe has shown intense patience and an ability to focus on bringing his core vision to fruition. “I’ve dedicated every ounce of energy I have into building the company,” Scaringe said.
Unlike other EV startups, Faraday Future, Lucid, SF Motors, NIO included, Scaringe isn’t placing his bets on creating another Tesla competitor. He’s set Rivian’s sights on a market full of gas-guzzlers: large trucks and SUVs.
Rivian’s reason for focusing on large trucks and SUVs comes twofold, the lack of vehicle-electrification in the segment and the increasing interest from consumers. Scaringe believes that the segment is ripe for disruption and has lacked real innovation for decades.
“It’s an enormous space. It’s where the Detroit three make essentially all of their money; active vehicles, vehicles that have a high-level of function or utility,” he stated. “What we’re doing is we are bringing a level of technology and performance that resets expectations in this space.”
Scaringe is certainly right about one thing; the Detroit automakers derive an incredible amount of money from their trucks and SUVs. Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas estimates that 90% of Ford’s profits come from their truck division, which includes the F-150. In 2017, Ford sold nearly 900K F-150’s, each carrying an average selling price of $45,000. GMC’s Denali line, GM’s most luxurious trucks and SUVs, accounted for over 11% of GM’s US sales in 2017, with each car selling for more than $60,000 on average, according to the NYTimes.
Instead of simply electrifying an F-150 or GMC Yukon, Rivian has reimagined the concept of a large SUV or truck. Much like Tesla reinvented the idea of a sedan with the Model S, adding rear-facing seats, front trunk, and large touchscreen, Rivian is set to unveil an SUV and truck that offer unrivaled off-road performance, abundant storage, and supercar-like performance.
“I think we’re going to be showing something pretty special, in terms of its vehicle package,” Vinnels said. Rivian claims the vehicle will have upwards of 400 miles of range, speed to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds, and wade through 3.5ft of water. Scaringe boasts that Rivian’s vehicles are something you’d want to throw your surfboard, skis, or tent in and escape for the weekend.
Rivian’s largest battery pack holds a staggering 180kWh of energy and delivers 400+ miles of range. Additionally, Rivian will offer 105kWh and 135kWh configurations, with a starting price just over $60K. The top of the line battery pack will start just under $90K and will deliver close to 800hp, Scaringe stated on the LACoMotion podcast. More details around the configuration of the vehicle will be available next week at the reveal.
As Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, and Audi play catch up to Tesla’s premium EV lineup, Rivian is working to reinvent an entirely different market. The company is confident that their upcoming vehicles are built for the world of tomorrow and will shake up Detroit’s perspective on electric vehicles. “We aren’t here just build one vehicle; we’re here to build whatever the lifecycle volume is, 250,000 or 300,000 vehicles. We worry just as much about the last one as the first one,” Vinnels said.
After nearly a decade in the shadows, Rivian is preparing to unveil their first two vehicles in Los Angeles next week. “We’re confident that what we are showing is pretty much exactly what we will be delivering to the customer,” Vinnels said. The unveiling of Rivian’s truck, the R1T, will be live streamed from a private event on the 26th, while the SUV, carrying a similar name, R1S, will be unveiled on stage at the LA Auto Show the following day.
“It will be like nothing else,” Vinnels stated.
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Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3 rolls out: here’s what’s new
We are in EAP and will be on the road with v14.3 in the coming hours, so we’ll have a lot of things to discuss over the next few days, especially coming from v14.2.2.5, which I called the most “confusing” FSD release of all time.
Tesla has officially started rolling out Full Self-Driving v14.3 to Early Access Program (EAP) members, and there are a lot of new improvements.
We are in EAP and will be on the road with v14.3 in the coming hours, so we’ll have a lot of things to discuss over the next few days, especially coming from v14.2.2.5, which I called the most “confusing” FSD release of all time.
🚨 Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3 is here and it is coming with so many new features
Looks like there will be some MAJOR improvements to the general performance.
Truly seems like it will be significantly different than v14.2 pic.twitter.com/mhdfBLuDup
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) April 7, 2026
Tesla brought out a lot of improvements, according to the v14.3 release notes, which list a vast number of fixes, new features, and new capabilities.
Here’s what Tesla’s release notes for the v14.3 release state:
- Improved parking location pin prediction, now shown on a map with a P icon.
- Increased decisiveness of parking spot selection and maneuvering.
- Rewrote the Al compiler and runtime from the ground up with MLIR, resulting in 20% faster reaction time and improving model iteration speed.
- Enhanced response to emergency vehicles, school buses, right-of-way violators, and other rare vehicles.
- Mitigated unnecessary lane biasing and minor tailgating behaviors.
- Improved handling of small animals by focusing RL training on harder examples and adding rewards for better proactive safety.
- Improved traffic light handling at complex intersections with compound lights, curved roads, and yellow light stopping – driven by training on hard RL examples sourced from the Tesla fleet.
- Upgraded the Reinforcement Learning (RL) stage of training the FSD neural network, resulting in improvements in a wide variety of driving scenarios.
- Upgraded the neural network vision encoder, improving understanding in rare and low-visibility scenarios, strengthening 3D geometry understanding, and expanding traffic sign understanding.
- Improved handling for rare and unusual objects extending, hanging, or leaning into the vehicle path by sourcing infrequent events from the fleet.
- Improved handling of temporary system degradations by maintaining control and automatically recovering without driver intervention, reducing unnecessary disengagements.
Tesla also listed a handful of future improvements as well:
- Expand reasoning to all behaviors beyond destination handling
- Add pothole avoidance
- Improve driver monitoring system sensitivity with better eye gaze tracking, eye wear handling, and higher accuracy in variable lighting situations
CEO Elon Musk has said that v14.3 could be “where the last big piece of the puzzle finally lands.” We have high expectations for this release because, in a lot of ways, v14.2’s final version was extremely disappointing and seemed to be a regression more than anything.
Nevertheless, Full Self-Driving v14.3 is going to be quite an interesting test, considering this is also the first time Musk has stated it will feel like the car will be “sentient.”
Reasoning will be a bigger piece of the puzzle with this release, although there were some elements of it in v14.2.
Tesla AI Head says future FSD feature has already partially shipped
We plan to travel plenty of miles with it over the next few days, so we’ll keep you posted on what our thoughts are.
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Tesla Model Y ownership review after six months: What I love and what I don’t
I pay about $25 more a month than I did for my Bronco Sport for my Tesla. It was a no-brainer to switch. Like any car, it isn’t perfect, but my Tesla has more things right than any other car I’ve owned, and that makes it truly incredible.
It has been just over six months since I took delivery of my Diamond Black Tesla Model Y Premium Long Range (at that time, it was called the Tesla Model Y Long Range All-Wheel-Drive).
In those six months, I have had the opportunity to experience true and pure electric vehicle ownership, what comes with it after driving a gas vehicle for my entire life, and, to be completely frank, there are not many things I would change.
My brand new ride! Thank you @tesla @elonmusk for building one badass car
Officially a battery boy pic.twitter.com/jzpMawmTZs
— Joey Klender (@KlenderJoey) August 30, 2025
Owning a Tesla was something I never thought I’d do until I owned a house, simply to take advantage of the advantage of home charging. However, I had to take the chance last year with the elimination of the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit, as well as to avoid the mountainous stack of repair bills that were presenting themselves with my Ford Bronco Sport.
There are a lot of things I love about my Model Y, and there are a handful of things I wish I could change. In this piece, I plan to break down the ownership experience through about six months with my Tesla Model Y, hoping to provide you with enough insight to potentially make a change — or stick with what you have.
Things I Love About My Tesla Model Y
Driving Experience
Tesla really pushes Full Self-Driving and autonomy, but there are times that, as an owner, I feel I need to drive this car manually. Tesla put so much effort into the Model Y’s engineering and driving experience that it feels like a bit of a disservice to have it drive itself around all the time.
The suspension in this vehicle, as well as its ability to handle sharp corners, its quick acceleration, and its ability to hug the road at spirited speeds, is truly something you need to feel for yourself. I personally have never had a car that was truly geared toward driving this way. Other than a short-lived ownership experience with a Honda Civic a few years back (something I won’t ever do again), all of my vehicles have been SUVs or compact crossovers.
Credit: Joey Klender
Having a car that offers both a fun driving experience and cargo space is what the Model Y truly is all about. It’s a fun car to drive, but it also has a lot of functionality.
It is always a treat when it’s a little warmer out, I can roll the windows down, and take my Model Y to a tight back road in Pennsylvania to have some fun. I have never loved driving in the traditional sense. I don’t hate it, but it’s not necessarily “fun” to me, but that’s probably because I never had a car that was engineered to make the driving experience enjoyable.
This has truly changed my perspective on driving, and the Model Y is probably the second-most-fun car I’ve ever had the pleasure of driving. The first? The Tesla Model S.
Home Charging and Supercharging
Now, Home Charging is relatively new to me, and I covered my process for figuring that out in another article, which is linked here.
https://t.co/zJRwyQDcDE pic.twitter.com/AIhp21omh8
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 15, 2026
Waking up in the morning and having some additional range is really a great feeling — and with gas prices going through the stratosphere, the money I’m saving on gas is something quite special.
Supercharging is also a fun experience for me. Do I wish it were a faster experience? Sure. But there’s plenty to do in the car: Netflix, Hulu, Tesla Arcade, or head into whatever convenience store is nearby, use the restroom, and grab a bite to eat.
I have come to enjoy the evenings that I’ll head over to the Supercharger and plug my car in for half an hour before a longer drive the next day (if I didn’t plug in soon enough at home and need some fast-charging).
Tesla also added a new Supercharging “Wrapped” feature at the end of the year, gamifying the entire Supercharging experience. I’m excited to see all the places I’ve charged at the end of 2026.
Sporty, Clean, and Fun Interior
The interior of my Tesla is probably one of the most underrated features of my car, but it’s definitely my favorite. With vehicles I’ve purchased in the past, the big selling point is the inside for me, not the outside. Of course, I want my car to look good to others, but ultimately, I’m paying the payment and I’m spending 100% of the time I’m using the car on the inside of it.
…and I thought mine was bad https://t.co/xysshGcp2A pic.twitter.com/bsimX94DYH
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 22, 2026
This highlights the need for a comfy, cozy, and capable cabin that has all the features I could want. In Pennsylvania, we have cold winters and hot and humid summers. The Model Y has heated seats and a steering wheel, as well as A/C seats. The HVAC is incredibly capable, customizable, and comfortable for all passengers, allowing them to make adjustments wherever needed.
At night, the black interior coupled with the accent lighting makes for one of the coolest, spaceship-like interiors on the market. Tesla always called it a “Rave Cave,” and it truly feels like it.
Tech: From Full Self-Driving to Other Features
Tech is really the biggest part of owning a Tesla; it is so advanced that it almost feels like it’s not even a car. Full Self-Driving is obviously such a huge advantage, and I’ve talked about it in great detail, both positively and negatively.
I could write 1,000 words on FSD, but I don’t want to focus on it solely, because there are so many other things that need to be highlighted.
One thing Tesla really has over others is the ability to improve its cars continually. Simple features like a charging adjustment, new modes, or activating features that weren’t quite ready previously are all things Tesla has added through Over-the-Air updates.
I don’t know if I could pick just one as a favorite, but in the six months I’ve had my car, the most useful thing I’ve come across outside of FSD is Summon. While it is hit or miss a lot of the time, there are little features, like moving the car forward or back from the Tesla App, that are incredibly useful. Adjusting a park job, making snow shoveling around the car easier, or even moving the car slightly when I’m taking photos or video is incredibly seamless with this functionality.
Cargo and Interior Space
One of my big concerns when going from a Bronco Sport to a Model Y was cargo space, only to find out the Model Y has more space than the Bronco Sport. I always have something in the trunk, whether it is luggage, my golf bag, shoes, or groceries. I’ve never felt like I’ve needed more space in this car, although I’m sure that day will come when I get the boys together for a golf trip and I am driving.
I’ve packed luggage for my Fiancèe and a few of her friends on a trip to Disney with no issues. Four girls going to Disney for five days is a challenge that will frighten even the most capable vehicles. I had no issues.
But what is also great about the Model Y is that it has the room to do other things, like fit an entire mattress for camping. SNUUZU makes an amazing Tesla mattress that I have thrown in the car to watch sunsets. This Summer, I’ll do some camping with it.
It’s one of the many things about this car that I really love.
Things About My Tesla Model Y I Do Not Love
Winter Range
There’s no getting around the fact that owning this car without a faster charging option at home in the winter is truly frustrating. I was charging much more frequently in January and February than in any other month.
I took a 40-mile round-trip drive to grab some hot wings with friends in January. It took about 105 miles of range.
The cold weather was truly a frustrating time to own an EV, and my problems would have been solved with a Level 2 charger at home. Even still, the drives that were a few hours long were going to be fit with 10-15 minute stops to grab some range at a Supercharger.
Navigation
I really think that Tesla could have the best navigation out there. They always talk about licensing FSD, but if they were to license their Navigation software, I think it could overtake Apple Maps, Waze, and others. With a weather radar, live traffic updates, satellite imagery, and more, the Navigation system is truly the best around.
I’m just going to say it and I know I’ll get some hate for it, but v14.2.2.5 is the worst FSD release since v14.
Constantly in the wrong lane, a lot of weird maneuvers, so many additional nav errors, routing, speed control, parking, and that’s just to name a few.
v14.3 cannot…
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 30, 2026
However, the Navigation itself, meaning the routing, is absolutely abysmal. It doesn’t learn from mistakes, it doesn’t learn more ideal routing, and it doesn’t seem to improve at any point. It still tries to leave my neighborhood by turning left out of a right-turn-only exit. It routinely takes some of the most head-scratching routes to local destinations.
Consistently using the FSD disengage feature to report the problems to Tesla’s AI Team doesn’t seem to yield much of a result. It would be great if there were a “Learn” mode so that it could be less on Tesla to refine things, and the car would just learn automatically.
Cup Holders
This is a really trivial and nitpicky point of criticism, but boy, do these cupholders need to be larger. Many of my reusable water bottles do not fit in them, so I had to grab a $25 cup holder “adapter” from Amazon. It obstructs the center console from opening comfortably, but it is what it is. It fits standard cups, soft drink containers from fast food restaurants, and bottles of water, at least for the most part.
It would be nice if Tesla could think about something for the next Model Y refresh here, although I may be the only one to really complain about them.
Final Thoughts
I pay about $25 more a month than I did for my Bronco Sport for my Tesla. It was a no-brainer to switch. Like any car, it isn’t perfect, but my Tesla has more things right than any other car I’ve owned, and that makes it truly incredible.
Sometimes I am still baffled that this is my car. It feels crazy to drive something that is so far ahead of any other car I’ve driven. Three of my friends own Teslas now, all of us bought them at the same time last year, and all four of us don’t know if we’d ever consider going back.
🚨 Tesla Model Y 6 Month Ownership Review:
What I Love:
✅ Driving Experience
✅ Simplicity
✅ FSD
✅ Constant Improvement via OTA UpdatesWhat I Don’t Love:
🛑 Range in the Winter
🛑 When people who don’t pay my car payment tell me I shouldn’t own a Tesla pic.twitter.com/0zuI04iQMX— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) April 3, 2026
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s Terafab project locks up massive new partner
Terafab, first revealed by Musk in March, is a massive joint-venture semiconductor complex planned for the North Campus of Giga Texas in Austin.
Elon Musk’s Terafab project just locked up a massive new partner, just weeks after the new project was announced by Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, the three companies that will be direct benefactors from it.
In a landmark announcement on April 7, Intel joined Elon Musk’s Terafab project as a key partner alongside Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI. The collaboration focuses on refactoring silicon fabrication technology to deliver ultra-high-performance chips at unprecedented scale.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan hosted Musk at Intel facilities the prior weekend, underscoring the partnership’s momentum with a public handshake.
Intel is proud to join the Terafab project with @SpaceX, @xAI, and @Tesla to help refactor silicon fab technology.
Our ability to design, fabricate, and package ultra-high-performance chips at scale will help accelerate Terafab’s aim to produce 1 TW/year of compute to power… pic.twitter.com/2vUmXn0YhH
— Intel (@intel) April 7, 2026
Terafab, first revealed by Musk in March, is a massive joint-venture semiconductor complex planned for the North Campus of Giga Texas in Austin. Valued at $20–25 billion, it aims to consolidate the entire chip-making pipeline, design, fabrication, memory production, and advanced packaging in a single location. It should eliminate a majority of Tesla’s dependence on third-party chip fab companies.
The facility will manufacture two primary chip types: energy-efficient edge-inference processors optimized for Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) systems, Cybercab and Robotaxi, and Optimus humanoid robots, and high-power, radiation-hardened variants for SpaceX satellites and xAI’s orbital data centers.
Elon Musk launches TERAFAB: The $25B Tesla-SpaceXAI chip factory that will rewire the AI industry
The project’s audacious goal is to produce 1 terawatt (TW) of annual compute capacity, roughly 50 times current global AI chip output.
Production is expected to begin modestly and scale rapidly, addressing Musk’s warning that chip supply could soon become the biggest constraint on Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI growth. By vertically integrating manufacturing tailored to their exact needs, Terafab eliminates supply-chain bottlenecks and accelerates iteration for AI training, inference at the edge, and space-based computing.
Intel’s participation is strategically vital. The company will contribute expertise in advanced process technology, high-volume fabrication, and packaging to help Terafab achieve its aggressive targets. For Intel, the deal strengthens its foundry business and positions it as a critical U.S. player in the AI hardware race.
For Musk’s ecosystem, it secures domestic, purpose-built silicon at a time when global capacity meets only a fraction of projected demand for hundreds of millions of robots and orbital AI infrastructure.
This is the latest chapter in Intel-Tesla ties. In November 2025, Musk publicly stated at Tesla’s shareholder meeting that partnering with Intel on AI5 chips was “worth having discussions,” amid concerns about TSMC and Samsung capacity.
Exploratory talks followed, with Intel eyeing custom-AI opportunities. The Terafab integration transforms those conversations into concrete collaboration.
The Intel-Terafab alliance carries broader implications. It bolsters U.S. semiconductor sovereignty, drives innovation in cost- and power-efficient AI silicon, and supports Musk’s vision of exponential progress in autonomy, robotics, and space.
As AI compute demand surges, this partnership could reshape the industry, delivering the silicon backbone for a new era of intelligent machines on Earth and beyond.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3 rolls out: here’s what’s new
Tesla Model Y ownership review after six months: What I love and what I don’t
