Musk Declares: Building a Tesla Chip Empire Within Two Years
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has once again stirred the industry. On Monday, after the U.S. stock market closed, it was revealed that Tesla plans to establish its own chip manufacturing plant to support its enormous artificial intelligence computing needs. Musk bluntly stated that the production pace of foundries like Samsung and TSMC is "too slow" to meet Tesla's strategic objectives.
He estimated that in the coming years, Tesla will require between 100 million to 200 billion AI chips annually. Currently, the commissioning period for new capacity at the world's top foundries can take up to five years. "I cannot wait five years," Musk emphasized, "AI chips will determine the future of autonomous driving and supercomputing development; we must seize the initiative in self-manufacturing."
This news quickly turned the market's focus to Tesla. On Monday, the company's stock price rose by 1.13%, closing at $408.92, with a transaction volume of $41.825 billion, ranking first in the U.S. stock market. Investors generally believe that the plan to build its own chips may signify Tesla's further transition from an electric vehicle manufacturer to a provider of AI infrastructure.
Chip Battle Intensifies: Samsung and TSMC Under Pressure
Tesla's move not only impacts the global semiconductor industry landscape but also poses a challenge to two major foundry giants. Both TSMC and Samsung were named by Musk as "slow in progress," and their five-year expansion cycle contrasts sharply with Tesla's hope to achieve self-supply in two years.
TSMC fell by 0.99% on Monday, closing at $282.01, with a transaction volume of $2.876 billion.
However, Bank of America Securities expressed optimism in its latest report, believing that TSMC's leading position in the high-performance computing (HPC) and AI chip foundry market is unlikely to be challenged in the short term. The bank expects TSMC's revenue to maintain a compound annual growth rate of about 45% over the next five years and has raised its target price to 1,960 TWD, maintaining a "buy" rating.
Analysts point out that although Musk is capable of driving independent development, building an advanced chip factory from scratch requires massive investment and technological accumulation. In the short term, he will still need to rely on mature supply chains like TSMC.
Diverging Institutional Trends: Nvidia Under Pressure, Google Favored
The uncertainty in the AI chip supply chain has once again brought Nvidia into market focus. Its stock fell by 1.88% on Monday, with a transaction volume of $31.845 billion. According to the latest 13F filings from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Peter Thiel's fund, Thiel Macro Fund, reduced its Nvidia holdings by about 537,000 shares in the third quarter, cashing out nearly $100 million. It also reduced its Tesla holdings by about 207,600 shares, a decrease of 76%.
At the same time, Berkshire Hathaway significantly increased its holdings in Google's parent company Alphabet, purchasing approximately 17.85 million shares with an investment amount of $4.9 billion, boosting Google Class A shares to rise by 3.11%. Industry insiders believe that this move by Buffett's team indicates that traditional value investors are gradually recognizing the long-term commercial potential of AI technology.
Apple Leadership Change Rumors Stir the Market
Apple's stock fell by 1.82% on Monday, with a transaction volume of $11.523 billion. The market is abuzz with news that the company might announce the retirement of CEO Tim Cook as early as the beginning of 2025. Analysts believe this news might be Apple's board testing the market reaction. Since Cook took over, Apple's market value has soared from $350 billion to $4 trillion, and his departure would inevitably cause investor sentiment fluctuations.
Meanwhile, AMD and Micron's stock prices fell by 2.55% and 1.98% respectively, with Micron briefly reaching a historical high before falling back.
Market Outlook: AI Industry Chain Reaches Watershed
The news of Musk's self-established chip factory is seen as a landmark event marking the AI industry chain entering a new stage of "de-dependence." Industry insiders believe that as technology giants like Tesla seek to control more upstream resources, the competitive landscape of the semiconductor industry will shift from foundry expansion to system integration.
In the short term, AI concept stocks may continue to fluctuate sharply due to news; in the medium to long term, industry self-sufficiency and innovation capabilities will determine companies' leading positions in the next AI cycle.
As analysts say, "Musk's ambition goes beyond making cars; he is betting on industrial sovereignty for the AI era."
