Elon Musk’s Tesla to Commit Over $1 Billion to Dojo Supercomputer: Here’s Why
Written by Sanjay Kumar
Elon Musk
Chief Executive Officer of Tesla Motors
- Born: 28 June 1971 (age 52 years), Pretoria, South Africa
- Net worth: 25,810 crores USD (2023) Forbes
- Children: Vivian Jenna Wilson, Nevada Alexander Musk, Griffin Musk, Damian Musk, Kai Musk, Saxon Musk
- Spouse: Talulah Riley (m. 2013–2016), Talulah Riley (m. 2010–2012), Justine Musk (m. 2000–2008)
- Parents: Errol Musk, Maye Musk
- Full name: Elon Reeve Musk
Tesla, led by Elon Musk, has announced its ambitious plans to invest more than $1 billion in Project Dojo by the end of 2024. The main focus of Project Dojo is the development of a powerful supercomputer that can efficiently process vast amounts of data, including videos collected from Tesla cars. This data processing will be utilized to create and enhance the software required for self-driving cars. In their recent earnings call, Tesla confirmed that the production of the ‘Dojo training computer’ has already commenced.
During a conference call with analysts, Elon Musk revealed the company’s substantial investment in Project Dojo. He emphasized that Tesla has access to an enormous volume of video data, primarily sourced from customers using the Autopilot driver assistance software and the “Full Self Driving Beta” feature. This abundance of data, amounting to over 300 million miles worth of information, provides Tesla with a valuable resource for their endeavors. The company’s latest earnings release mentioned the commencement of production for the specialized “Dojo training computer.”
The announcement of the massive expenditure on Project Dojo had an unexpected impact on Tesla’s investors, causing a 4% decline in the price of Tesla shares during after-hours trading.
To clarify the investment, Tesla’s chief financial officer, Zachary Kirkhorn, later revealed that the funds would be allocated between Research and Development (R&D) and capital expenditures. He also stated that this investment was part of a previously outlined three-year expense outlook.
An interesting report published in The Verge highlighted that Tesla already possesses a powerful Nvidia GPU-based supercomputer, which is renowned for its capabilities. Nevertheless, the forthcoming Dojo supercomputer is distinctive as it is being constructed using chips specifically designed by Tesla.
In a separate matter, Elon Musk mentioned that Tesla might continue reducing the prices of its electric vehicles if interest rates continue to rise. Tesla’s strategy of lowering prices to boost sales has proven successful, contributing to the company’s ability to surpass profit and revenue expectations in the second quarter.
