The development of Dojo is a risky bet for Tesla, but it could potentially create a new business model based on its AI division. The first version of Dojo will be tailored for Tesla's computer vision labeling and training, but future versions will be more tailored to general purpose AI training. This could potentially allow Tesla to rent out its compute, similar to how AWS and Azure rent out cloud computing capabilities. Despite the risks, a report from Morgan Stanley predicted that Dojo could add $500 billion to Tesla's market value by unlocking new revenue streams in the form of robotaxis and software services.
Key takeaways:
- Dojo is Tesla's custom-built supercomputer that's designed to train its "Full Self-Driving" neural networks. It is a critical part of Tesla's long-term strategy to reach full self-driving and bring a robotaxi to market.
- Tesla is working to move away from standard GPU hardware and design its own chips to power Dojo. The company unveiled its D1 chip, a silicon square the size of a palm, on AI Day in 2021. The D1 chip is optimized for AI workloads.
- Taking control of its own chip production means that Tesla might one day be able to quickly add large amounts of compute power to AI training programs at a low cost. It also means that Tesla may not have to rely on Nvidia’s chips in the future, which are increasingly expensive and hard to secure.
- Dojo is a risky bet, one that Musk has hedged several times by saying that Tesla might not succeed. However, a report from Morgan Stanley predicted that Dojo could add $500 billion to Tesla’s market value by unlocking new revenue streams in the form of robotaxis and software services.