Is Tesla shutting down the Dojo supercomputer?

Tesla is winding down Dojo as a standalone architecture, but its capabilities will be integrated into AI5 and AI6 chips for both training and inference.

Why is Tesla ending Dojo?

Tesla found it more efficient to merge Dojo's functions with its AI chip roadmap, reducing redundancy and accelerating development.

What will replace Dojo?

Dojo's core capabilities will be folded into AI5 and AI6, which Tesla is developing in partnership with Samsung and TSMC.

Dojo Isn’t Dead—It’s Just... Getting Folded In

Rebellionaire Staff
1 day ago
3 min read

Alright, so you’ve seen the headlines screaming “Tesla nukes Dojo project!” That sounds dramatic, right? But let’s slow down and actually decode what’s happening here. It’s not a cinematic explosion—it’s more like Tesla quietly packing boxes and moving into a new, shinier place.

What Was Dojo, Again?

Let’s rewind. Dojo was Tesla’s bold, in-house supercomputer project—launched around 2021, powered by their custom D1 (and eventually D2) chips. It was meant to crunch mountains of camera data from Tesla vehicles and train their full self-driving (FSD) neural nets—all in-house, away from Nvidia, AMD, etc. [1]

It felt like Tesla’s secret sauce. Seriously: Morgan Stanley once slapped a $500 billion potential valuation on Dojo’s future [2].

But Dojo stumbled—technical delays, memory limits, wafer-scale headaches. The D1 rollout slowed, and Musk even admitted it was a “long shot worth taking” [3].

So What Just Shifted?

Team’s disbanded. Lead Peter Bannon is out, around 20 folks left to launch a new AI hardware startup—DensityAI [2].
The rest are being reassigned to other compute and data center projects inside Tesla [4].
Musk said on X: “It didn’t make sense to scale two totally different chip designs. AI5, AI6—and forward—will be great at inference and at least decent for training. That’s where we’re putting all our focus” [5].
Tesla just struck a $16.5 billion deal with Samsung to build AI6 chips in a Texas fab. AI5 chips are expected to roll off TSMC production by end-of-2026 [4].

That last bit isn’t just a footnote—it says Tesla’s doubling down on external partners for fabrication, and focusing the design inwards only where it counts.

So, Dojo Is Dead?

Not exactly. Think of it this way:

Dojo as a standalone architecture? That’s over.
Dojo as a set of capabilities baked into AI6? Still alive—just under a different brand name [6].
Musk even floated that pairing many AI5/AI6 chips in a cluster “could be called Dojo 3”—more a spiritual successor than a funeral [3].

In short: Dojo isn’t vaporized—its DNA is just being sewn into the AI6-era of chip design.

Why This Matters (and Why It’s Practical)

Saves time and capital: Instead of juggling two chip lines (Dojo vs inference chips), Tesla’s going all-in on one unified path [5].
Partner muscle: Samsung and TSMC are better at manufacturing scale. Leaning on them means Tesla can focus on innovation, not expensive fabs [3].
Still charging ahead: Robotaxi pilots in Austin, Optimus ambitions, AI models on cars—none of that stops. In fact, this could accelerate rollout. Tesla’s stock even ticked up ~2–2.5% after the news [2][7].

Quick Breakdown Table: What’s Changing vs. What’s Staying

Aspect	What’s Changing	What’s Staying
Dojo as standalone	Yes—team disbanded, architecture scrapped	Capabilities integrated into AI6
Chip partners	Shift from custom-only to mixed (Samsung, TSMC)	Continued in-house design of AI5/AI6
Strategy	Consolidating technical resources	Focus on scaling AI inference & training efficiently
AI ambitions	Reorganized—less flashy, more streamlined	Fully intact—robotaxis, FSD, Optimus still front and center

Takeaway

This isn’t a failure. It’s Tesla pivoting when a path no longer made sense—optimizing for speed, scale, and sanity. Dojo wasn’t discarded—it’s just getting repurposed, rebranded, and integrated into a smarter, more unified strategy.

Sources:

TechCrunch. Tesla shuts down Dojo, the AI training supercomputer that Musk said would be key to full self-driving. August 7, 2025. Accessed August 11, 2025. https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/07/tesla-shuts-down-dojo-the-ai-training-supercomputer-that-musk-said-would-be-key-to-full-self-driving/
The Verge. Tesla’s Dojo team disbands amid AI talent exodus. August 7, 2025. Accessed August 11, 2025. https://www.theverge.com/tesla/756709/tesla-dojo-ai-talent-exodus-elon-musk
Tom’s Hardware. Tesla scraps custom Dojo wafer-level processor initiative. August 8, 2025. Accessed August 11, 2025. https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/tesla-scraps-custom-dojo-wafer-level-processor-initiative-dismantles-team-musk-to-lean-on-nvidia-and-amd-more
Austin American-Statesman. Tesla shuts down Dojo supercomputer project. August 7, 2025. Accessed August 11, 2025. https://www.statesman.com/business/technology/article/tesla-shuts-down-dojo-supercomputer-driverless-20808918.php
Reuters. Tesla to streamline AI chip design work, Musk says. August 7, 2025. Accessed August 11, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-streamline-its-ai-chip-design-work-musk-says-2025-08-07/
Next Big Future. Report that Tesla Dojo project disbanded. August 7, 2025. Accessed August 11, 2025. https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2025/08/report-that-tesla-dojo-project-disbanded.html
Barron’s. Tesla Stock Rises After Dojo Shake-up. August 7, 2025. Accessed August 11, 2025. https://www.barrons.com/articles/tesla-stock-ai-dojo-musk-a0dc7f2e