Dojo Shutdown and Shift to AI6
Elon Musk confirmed the discontinuation of Tesla’s Dojo supercomputer project, calling it an “evolutionary dead end.” This decision came after Tesla realized all future development potential lay with its new AI6 chips. Musk stated that Dojo 2, originally planned for a 2026 launch, is now obsolete, while “Dojo 3” effectively exists as multi-AI6 chip boards.
Initially, Dojo was designed as a specialized AI training system combining Nvidia GPUs and Tesla’s custom D1 chips. Plans for Dojo 2 with next-gen D2 chips were scrapped. Instead, Tesla will focus on AI5 (for Full Self-Driving) and AI6 (for autonomous vehicles and Optimus robots), manufactured by TSMC and Samsung.
Musk emphasized that splitting resources between two chip architectures was inefficient: “AI5 and AI6 excel at inference and are sufficiently good for training. All efforts are now directed there.”
Reasons and Consequences
The Dojo shutdown involved tough staffing decisions—some employees were laid off, while others transitioned to AI5/AI6 projects. Notably, about 20 staff members, including project lead Peter Bannon, left for DensityAI, a startup developing AI robotics solutions.
Analysts question whether AI6 can fully replace Dojo, as training and inference chips have different requirements. Musk, however, believes AI6-based clusters (“Dojo 3”) will reduce infrastructure costs while maintaining performance.
This shift coincides with Tesla’s declining EV sales and issues during its Austin robotaxi rollout, where vehicles exhibited erratic behavior.
Tesla’s AI Future
The fate of Tesla’s $500M Dojo facility in Buffalo and its Cortex supercluster project (announced in 2024) remains unclear—the company hasn’t commented.
Musk continues positioning Tesla as an autonomy leader despite challenges. The focus is now on unified AI5/AI6 chips, which he claims will advance FSD and robotics. Critics see Dojo’s cancellation as a sign of struggles against NVIDIA and internal resource constraints.
The move reflects an industry trend: abandoning specialized solutions for scalable, flexible alternatives like AI6.
