Why Elon Musk Is Betting Big On Supercomputers To Boost Tesla And xAI

Elon Musk has big plans for how artificial intelligence can help to propel his businesses forward. The tech titan founded xAI, a new AI venture, in 2023 to develop large language models and AI products, like its chatbot Grok, as an alternative to AI tools being created by OpenAI, Microsoft and Google. In June, it was announced that xAI would build a multi-billion dollar supercomputer, called Colossus, in Memphis, Tennessee to carry out the task of training Grok. Musk thinks supercomputers can also transform Tesla from a car company to an AI and robotics company. In August, Musk teased Tesla’s AI supercomputer cluster called “Cortex” on X. Cortex is being built at Tesla’s Austin, Texas headquarters. Back in January, Tesla also announced that it planned to spend $500 million on a custom-built Dojo supercomputer in Buffalo, New York. The job of these supercomputers is to process and train AI models using the huge amounts of video and data captured by Tesla vehicles and improve Tesla’s suite of driver assistance features, which the company calls Autopilot, as well as its more robust Full Self-Driving or FSD system. Despite their names, neither Autopilot nor FSD make Tesla vehicles autonomous and require active driver supervision. But reaching full autonomy is critical for Tesla, whose sky-high valuation is largely dependent on bringing robotaxis to market, according to some analysts. Finally, supercomputers can also be used to train Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus. Watch the video to learn more about why Musk has been building a slew of supercomputers. Chapters 01:55 - Supercomputers and xAI 05:08 - Supercomputers and Tesla 11:03 - Challenges and future outlook Produced by: Magdalena Petrova Additional Camera: Andrew Evers Edited by: Nora Rappaprt Animation: Josh Kalven Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt Editorial Support: Lora Kolodny Additional Footage: Getty Images, Tesla