A month ago, in November, news broke that Tesla had placed a huge silicon order with TSMC, choosing the Taiwanese chipmaker over Samsung. The alleged order was for 4nm chips for use in self-driving systems in Tesla cars in the future.
DigiTimes Asia has just given us strong evidence that the deal has gone through, which does Tesla one of TSMC’s seventh largest customers. According to the information, Tesla has placed orders for 4nm chips at TSMC’s new US factory in Arizona, and volume production is expected to begin in 2024.
In fact, more than a year ago, TSMC launched plans to build a factory on American soil, following Trump’s plans to bring chip manufacturing back to the United States. The facility was completed last year, and more than 250 people have been hired to work at the facility.
Tim Cook said earlier this month that Apple was considering buying 3nm chips made at TSMC’s Arizona factory. The chips will be manufactured starting in 2024, which also matches the timeline for the first 4nm chips for Tesla vehicles, according to the latest information.
Industry experts believe the deals are a blow to Samsung and will to some extent affect the company’s profits from silicon production over the next two years. Earlier this year, Tesla chose Samsung as the camera supplier for the Vision self-driving system, so it’s not all bad news for Samsung.