Tesla reassigns Dojo workers after ending supercomputer project

Tesla reassigns Dojo workers after ending supercomputer project

Tesla Inc. has announced the disbanding of its Dojo team and the reassignment of its remaining members to other projects within the company. The decision, which was confirmed by people familiar with the matter, marks a significant shift in Tesla's artificial intelligence (AI) strategy [1].

The Dojo project, which was spearheaded by Peter Bannon and aimed to develop an in-house supercomputer for AI training, has been shut down. Bannon, who was leading the Dojo team, is leaving Tesla, and the remaining 20 workers from the team have been reassigned to other data center and compute projects [1].

Tesla's focus is now shifting towards external technology partners, including Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) for compute needs, and Samsung Electronics Co. for chip manufacturing. The company has signed a $16.5 billion deal with Samsung to secure AI semiconductors through 2033 [1].

The decision to end the Dojo project comes after a period of internal turmoil at Tesla, with key executives leaving the company. Milan Kovac, the head of engineering for Optimus, and David Lau, vice president of software engineering, both left earlier this year. Additionally, longtime Musk confidant Omead Afshar parted ways with the company [1].

Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, hinted at a strategic pivot during the company's most recent quarterly earnings call, suggesting that future iterations of the company's in-house technology could converge with that of its partners. Musk also mentioned that the company might not pursue Dojo in perpetuity, and that it may instead lean more on external partners [1].

The Dojo project, which was based on a custom in-house chip known as D1, was used to train the machine-learning models behind Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems, as well as its Optimus humanoid robot. The computer processed video data captured by vehicles to improve the company's algorithms [1].

Tesla's shares rebounded after a slight decline overnight, rising 2.1% at 9:52 a.m. in New York on Friday, following the announcement [1]. The stock had fallen 20% this year through Thursday's close.

The development of Dojo began in 2019, with Musk justifying the project by saying that supercomputers were mostly designed for general purposes at the time. Tesla hoped to achieve independence from Nvidia GPUs and lower costs [2].

The sudden announcement of the project's closure comes as a surprise, given that Musk had mentioned the possibility of Dojo 2 and Dojo 3 during an analyst conference on July 23, 2025 [2].

Tesla's decision to end the Dojo project and focus on external partners could have significant implications for the company's AI strategy and its competitive position in the automotive market. The company's reliance on external technology partners could lead to a more collaborative and innovative approach to AI development, while also reducing the risk associated with in-house projects.

References:
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-07/tesla-disbands-dojo-supercomputer-team-in-blow-to-ai-effort
[2] https://www.heise.de/en/news/Tesla-discontinues-in-house-AI-project-Dojo-10515073.html