The Trump administration is pushing Tesla to shift production of its AI6.5 chip from TSMC to Intel’s foundry, aiming to reshape high-end chip supply chains within the US.

In April, Tesla disclosed that its AI6 chip would go to Samsung’s Arizona 2nm fab, while the more powerful AI6.5 was originally planned for exclusive production at TSMC Arizona. The AI6 is expected to tape out in December 2026, with the AI6.5 following months later.

Both chips feature large-scale SRAM cache architecture. According to Elon Musk, nearly half of the TRIP AI accelerators are designed for SRAM, delivering 10x effective memory bandwidth over traditional DRAM. With new LPDDR6 support and the same reticle size, the AI6.5 offers roughly 2x the performance of the previous AI5 chip.

Industry sources say Tesla is now reconsidering its plans, likely moving the AI6.5 to Intel, despite Intel’s less mature process and yield challenges compared to TSMC’s stable ecosystem. Still, with strong US government backing for Intel—including active matchmaking with tech firms and direct equity—the supply chain shift appears increasingly probable.

ICgoodFind: US pressure to reroute Tesla’s AI6.5 chip to Intel could disrupt global advanced foundry dynamics.