CNBC reported the two companies are working together on a chip for an autonomous car. Later reports suggest it’s not happening after all. Is Tesla closer to creating the autonomous car of their dreams? (Photo from Tesla)
The latest news from Tesla shows how much stock the company has when rumors spiral out of control. Last week, CNBC reported that the company was building a new in-house chip using AMD technology. They also reported that Tesla was also working GlobalFoundries, AMD spinoff and chip maker, to make sure they make the self-driving car a reality. Tesla CEO Elon Musk hopes to get these cars to consumers by 2019.
The report went on to say Tesla was so far in the work that they were able to create samples of the processor’s first implementation and they’re already in the testing phase. When it was revealed the two companies would be working together, AMD stock shares spiked and ended the day five percent higher than normal.
Turns out, this isn’t exactly true. Hours after the story broke A GlobalFoundries spokesperson responded saying Sanjay Jha’s comments were taken out of context. The AMD CEO mentioned during his presentation at the company’s tech conference in California that companies like Apple, Tesla, Google were nothing but examples of businesses interested in working with them. The statement went on to say Tesla has not “committed to working with us on any autonomous driving technology.”
It seems too many people jumped the gun here as Nvidia’s stock went down 2.4% when the story broke. Tesla’s current vehicles use Nvidia’s graphics processing units as part of the Autopilot hardware. Now that the rumor has been quelled, maybe Nvidia will bounce back. Previously, Tesla used chips by Mobileye, which was acquired by Intel earlier this year. Tesla parted ways with the company after a fatal crash involving the company’s autopilot hardware occurred in Florida last year. A truck driver was crossing the highway when it was hit by the Model S. Turns out the driver was playing a Harry Potter movie at the time and wasn’t paying attention to the road.
Even though AMD and Tesla aren’t exactly working together (yet) doesn’t mean the company isn’t interested in making their own chip. By building their own processor, they have the ability to make it do precisely what it wants them to do, and it may be essential in achieving total autonomous driving. Don’t be surprised if Tesla teams up with AMD or another chipmaker in the future to meet their goals. In the meantime, this is a good time to remember you can’t always trust everything you read.
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