Global Chip Shortage: Tesla May Start Its Own Chip Manufacturing
The American automaker is ready to advance purchases of chips and is considering launching its own chip production due to a global supply shortage, writes the Financial Times, citing sources familiar with the matter.
According to the sources of the publication, Elon Musk's company is discussing with industry operators in South Korea, the United States and Taiwan the purchase of chips on a prepaid basis in order to ensure themselves guaranteed supply of components in the future.
As the FT notes, Tesla needs the latest generation of chips to produce electric vehicles, which are mainly produced in Taiwan and South Korea, but getting them is becoming increasingly difficult amid the global chip shortage.
Buying your own factory will help overcome the shortage of components, but will require significant financial investments, experts warn. According to Velu Sinha, partner at the consulting firm Bain in Shanghai, many automakers thought about such a step, but, having seen the price of the factory, stood back in line with existing chip suppliers on the market.
A chip manufacturing plant using the latest technology can cost about $ 20 billion, and the owner can take a long time to get comfortable with running such a complex enterprise, FT notes.
However, Tesla already has a team of engineers developing semiconductors for autonomous driving systems installed in electric vehicles, and the company showed its interest in manufacturing components last year when it announced plans to produce its own batteries.