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Tesla supplier Talon Metals on Manchin EV Bill, Tesla & more

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Tesla supplier, Talon Metals (TLO.TO) gave Teslarati an exclusive interview and we talked about the Manchin EV Bill, Tesla and more.

I received some great feedback on one of my recent articles from Todd Malan, Chief External
Affairs Officer & Head of Climate Strategy at Talon Metals, one of Tesla’s key suppliers of nickel
and other battery minerals in the USA.

The two companies signed an offtake partnership in January of this year to supply nickel from Talon’s project in central Minnesota.  Todd is based in Washington DC for Talon and therefore has a front-row seat to the wrangling among various parties regarding Senator Manchin’s new EV tax incentives in the Infrastructure Reduction Act of 2022.

As of this morning, voting was slated to begin today and the bill is expected to pass on a partisan line vote in the early morning of Monday. If the House passes it next week, it should be on President Biden’s desk by the end of the week.

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Manchin’s EV tax credit proposal

Credit: Talon Metals

Todd shared his thoughts on Manchin’s EV tax credit proposal. On one hand, it’s breathtakingly generous in that it lifts all numerical limits on EVs that are eligible for the $7500 tax credit.

Previously, 200,000 cars per year for each nameplate. On the other hand, Manchin’s proposal sets some new eligibility parameters around the cost of the EV, the income level of the buyer, and the source of the battery raw materials (sourced from the US or countries that have a Free Trade
Agreement with the US).

As I reported last week, some automakers are unhappy with Manchin’s strings on the EV credit, others like Tesla seem to be taking more of a “can do” approach when it comes to the mineral content provisions.

Todd also walked me through the comprehensive approach that Senator Manchin took to
supporting domestic mining and mineral processing across the full bill.

So, Manchin isn’t just telling automakers to buy from domestic sources of minerals and metals from domestic sources and leaving it to them. He also added significant new government support to help the supply chain get up and running on an urgent basis.

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The fact that he got commitments from Democratic leaders in Congress and President Biden to reform the permitting process in the US in separate legislation (not just for mines but for solar, wind and hydrogen too) is another signal of Manchin’s holistic approach to ramping up the full battery supply chain in the US and also rely on allies that happen to be mineral powerhouses like Australia and Canada.

Todd had a very optimistic view that all of these provisions, including the EV credit, will help the U.S. address its dependency on China for batteries and scale up its capability in battery mineral production.

The core of his view is that it will take partnerships between miners, automakers,
regulators, recyclers, and other parts of the supply chain to meet the Manchin content
requirements.

Todd thinks Tesla and Ford stand out as companies leading the way in this new
approach to supply chain security.

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Some automakers are not happy with Senator Manchin’s EV tax credit proposal

Credit: Talon Metals

Todd read my article, Automakers are not too happy with Senator Manchin’s EV tax credit
proposal and pointed out that there was not a universal view among the automakers or the rest of the battery supply chain.

“Mazda and Rivian have been out-front in the media complaining about aspects of Senator
Manchin’s EV incentive proposal. I understand the concern that the timeline is very ambitious but on the other hand, Senator Manchin’s draft includes some of the world’s largest producers of battery materials: Canada, Chile, Australia, South Korea, etc.”

“Those countries that don’t have free trade agreements with the US, there is plenty of time (and now incentive) for them to negotiate agreements. Senator Manchin didn’t just confine the provision to the U.S., or even USMCA countries, but all countries that now or in the future have free trade agreements.”

“This is a balanced measure that will encourage domestic mining investment and development while also ensuring we can draw on our allies for secure supplies. It may not be the cheapest option for the automakers, but supply from this broad base of countries can be ramped up to meet the requirements.”

Todd pointed out that other parts of the auto lobby had a more nuanced approach to
Manchin’s proposal to support EV adoption. The Zero Emissions Transportation Association (ZETA), in which Tesla is a lead member, was quick to offer support for Manchin’s EV incentives.

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Joe Britton, ZETA Executive Director was quoted in a number of media articles admitting that the domestic and ally content provisions would be hard to meet but that they could be met.

“If you look at the landscape as it exists today, it’s a challenge, but it’s doable,” said Joe Britton, the head of the Zero Emission Transportation Association, which advocates for EV adoption, told Bloomberg.“We can meet these metrics.”

Britton also has been praising the Manchin bill for what it will do for EV adoption. He told
News12 Westchester that he hopes the rebate can entice more people to purchase EVs. Britton said:

“In most areas of the country, especially the Northeast, it is five to six times more expensive to drive your vehicle on gasoline than it is by electricity. So, by making these vehicles more affordable on the front end, you’re really driving down that total cost of ownership”

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As with most people that are involved with Tesla as suppliers, Malan was extremely careful to not speak for Tesla or speculate on their positions. But I realized that someone glancing at the headlines without reading through the article might assume that Tesla was of the same view as the legacy auto industry.

We all know Tesla prefers to speak for itself and Elon Musk shared a thought about Senator Manchin on Twitter yesterday. Although many were wondering what his tweet meant, I think it’s pretty clear he thinks Manchin is doing something right.

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Partnerships across the value chain will be key

Todd pointed out to the Detroit News yesterday that it will take a range of
partnerships to meet the Manchin goals. He pointed out that Tesla and Talon have explicitly described their supply relationship as a partnership. Tesla is working with its suppliers.

Todd told me that everyone will need to work together to meet these goals.

“We need everyone working together to meet these ambitious goals in the Manchin bill.
Mining is the front end of the supply chain and it takes enormous knowhow, capital, and risk tolerance to discover, delineate, permit, construct and then safely operate a mine to supply battery minerals.”

“Processing has been the Achilles heel of the supply chain in the U.S. Luckily. Congress just provided new resources to address this issue in the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Everybody’s going to have to work together. The auto manufacturers, the miners, the people that do processing, and government at state and federal level.”

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“Senator Manchin and others in Congress realize that governments are going to have to focus on improving the permitting process – not to cut corners in environmental protections but to make the process more certain, efficient, and reliable.”

“Not just for mines, processing or even EV battery factories – but also solar, wind, hydro and hydrogen projects. We can not afford a disorganized, uncoordinated, and inefficient regulatory process that causes unnecessary delays in progress. We need all these projects to come online to address the climate crisis while also ensuring we protect the environment through science-based permitting.”

Talon Metals on Senator Manchin’s proposal.

I’ve seen a lot of mixed feedback on Senator Manchin’s proposal. As noted in my earlier article, many automakers like Mazda and Rivian are lobbying hard to water it down. Not as much has been heard from the companies that source raw materials like nickel and lithium in the United States. So, I asked Todd to share his take–and that of Talon Metals.

“From the standpoint of a company that’s trying to build a responsible nickel mine in
Minnesota, we think that Senator Manchin has struck a good balance in this bill. First, it provides the most generous set of incentives for EV adoption ever enacted in law.

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“It also encourages auto companies to work with domestic mines and mines in allied countries like Australia, Canada, and Chile and it provides some time for projects to ramp up. It also provides time for countries that don’t have FTAs to engage with the US and negotiate. Yes, it is a stretch goal but that seems appropriate given the climate crisis and our dependency on countries like China and Russia for battery supplies.”

“This is a carefully balanced bill that does push everyone to rise to the occasion. But that is appropriate because we want to create high-quality jobs in America as part of the energy transition and we don’t want to rely on Russia and China for the supply chain of battery minerals. It’s a matter of national security.”

How can automakers better work with their suppliers?

Credit: Talon metals

I asked this question because if automakers truly want to “get aggressive”; as Senator Manchin challenged them to do, then perhaps they need to take a page from Tesla and other leaders’practices.

“Having a Tesla off-take agreement in place has changed the perception of our project in the community. It’s very credentializing and our employees are proud of the partnership. People clearly understand that our proposed mine has a purpose: to supply nickel for the EV battery supply chain and contribute to the energy transition. This has helped shape how people perceive the project. It has a purpose and an important one.”

“Many of the large automakers are helping supply partners apply for some of the significant new funding opportunities being made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. The Department of Energy is expected to give out over $1.8 billion in funding from that legislation this fall. This is another example of how the end-users can help the front end of the supply chain for battery materials.”

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Todd commented that many auto companies are having a tough time adjusting to the new
reality of scarce commodities.

“They used to only focus on price and quality with a yearly focus on driving down the price. It’s a whole new game now, as they learned in the chip crisis. Some are still adjusting their mindset to scarcity and competition for supply.”

“It requires a change in mindset. No longer can the big auto company demand ever-lower price year over year. Smart end users have changed their mindset to partnership. That means understanding their partners’ issues, helping them to maximize productivity, access newtechnology, ramp up production, improve quality, and provide support during the permittingprocess or help obtain government funding.”

“This is the future, true partnership in the supply chain, from mine to cathode to recycling. That is how we meet Senator Manchin’s challenge and strengthen the supply chain for battery production.”

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Credit: Talon Metals

Todd didn’t come out and say it directly, but it came through in the way he talked about the Tesla. Yet again, Tesla is leading the industry in terms of securing supply from the right countries to feed its factories but also leading practices in working in partnership with key suppliers.

Knowing that I love cool rocks, Todd invited me up to Minnesota to check out what Talon is doing at Tamarack and show me some beautiful nickel samples. Todd also told me about Minnesota’s famous burger concoction, The Juicy Lucy.

Disclaimer: Johnna is long Tesla. 

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @JohnnaCrider1

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Johnna Crider is a Baton Rouge writer covering Tesla, Elon Musk, EVs, and clean energy & supports Tesla's mission. Johnna also interviewed Elon Musk and you can listen here

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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.

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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 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:

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  • 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.

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Credit: Joey Klender

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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Credit: SpaceX

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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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