To save memory for its robot, Tesla halves AI5 chip memory spec
Memory tightness has pushed Tesla to cut chip specs; watch real AI5 performance and Optimus production progress.
On October 2, Elon Musk announced on X that Tesla is cutting the AI5 chip's memory from 144GB to 72GB and the AI6 from 216GB to 144GB, reserving the saved memory for Optimus robot production. He said memory bandwidth stays unchanged, so the impact on Optimus performance should be "negligible." The move follows Micron's CFO predicting on an earnings call that humanoid robots will need over 200GB of DRAM per unit, with memory prices unlikely to fall even if the AI bubble bursts. The spec change is so far only Musk's personal announcement; the chips have not shipped, and the real impact will show in production.