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Tesla (NYSE: TSLA) has reportedly disbanded its Dojo supercomputer crew, marking a major strategic pivot away from a challenge that was as soon as thought-about a key pillar of its autonomous driving and synthetic intelligence (AI) ambitions. The transfer alerts a consolidation of the corporate’s AI efforts and an elevated reliance on exterior expertise companions.
TSLA Reportedly Disbands Dojo Supercomputer Staff
Dojo was Tesla’s bold in-house supercomputer challenge, designed to course of huge quantities of video information from its automobile fleet to coach the machine-learning fashions for its Autopilot, Full Self-Driving (FSD), and Optimus robotic programs. The challenge was centered on a custom-designed D1 chip. Tesla bulls noticed it as a key long-term progress driver, and Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, who’s among the many most vocal Tesla bull amongst sell-side analysts, had as soon as predicted it may add half a trillion {dollars} to Tesla’s market worth.
Nonetheless, this system has reportedly confronted a lot of challenges, together with delays and a latest exodus of key expertise. Peter Bannon, who was main the Dojo challenge, is ready to depart the corporate, and roughly 20 different crew members have reportedly left to type a brand new startup, DensityAI. The remaining members of the Dojo crew will likely be reassigned to different information middle and compute initiatives inside Tesla.
Tesla has Confronted An Exodus of High Executives.
This resolution comes amidst a wave of govt departures at Tesla. Among the many most notable exits are Omead Afshar, a detailed confidant of Elon Musk who oversaw North American and European operations, and Milan Kovac, the pinnacle of the Optimus humanoid robotic program. Their departures, together with these of prime battery govt Vineet Mehta and North American gross sales chief Troy Jones.
The corporate has additionally been making strikes to deepen its relationships with exterior tech corporations. Tesla just lately finalized a $16.5 billion take care of Samsung to provide AI chips and plans to more and more depend on firms like Nvidia and AMD for its computing wants.
AI Expertise Battle
In the meantime, there was an AI expertise warfare amongst tech firms. Last month, Google recruited Varun Mohan, the co-founder and CEO of AI coding startup Windsurf, together with a considerable portion of his analysis and improvement crew, in a deal valued at an estimated $2.4 billion.
Meta Platforms and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, have additionally been on an AI expertise hiring spree, and in June, the corporate acquired a 49% stake in Scale AI for about $14.3 billion. This deal, valuing the startup at over $29 billion, is Meta’s second-largest monetary dedication after its WhatsApp acquisition and is a transparent indicator of Mark Zuckerberg’s aggressive push to bolster Meta’s AI capabilities.
Meta has additionally employed Daniel Gross, co-founder and former CEO of Protected Superintelligence. His experience in constructing AI merchandise from the bottom up will likely be instrumental in translating cutting-edge analysis into tangible person experiences. The corporate has poached key AI expertise from tech giants like OpenAI, Google, and Apple as Zuckerberg doubles down on the corporate’s bets in synthetic intelligence.
Tesla Is Going through a Extreme Slowdown in Gross sales
In the meantime, at the same time as Musk has been attempting to steer Tesla from an EV firm to a tech big specializing in synthetic intelligence, robotics, and humanoids, the company’s core automotive business has been facing several challenges with gross sales falling for the primary time final yr. The slowdown has solely deepened in 2025, and Tesla’s deliveries fell in double digits within the first half of the yr.
The Tesla CEO has warned of some “tough quarters” forward because the One Massive Lovely Invoice Act does away with the EV tax credit score, which may harm EV gross sales.
Musk Has Sought Larger Voting Rights at Tesla
Musk, who additionally owns xAI, his AI startup, has been searching for larger voting rights at Tesla so that he’s snug constructing AI merchandise on the EV firm. Notably, in a put up on X in January 2024, Musk stated that “I’m uncomfortable rising Tesla to be a pacesetter in AI & robotics with out having ~25% voting management. Sufficient to be influential, however not a lot that I can’t be overturned.”
At the moment, Musk owns round a 13% stake in Tesla, and his possession fell after he offered shares to fund his Twitter acquisition. His public name for larger voting rights in Tesla was seen as a ploy to stress Tesla’s board for a brand new compensation construction.
Extra just lately, throughout Tesla’s Q2 2025 earnings name final month, Musk stated that he hoped that the problem of him having larger voting rights could be taken up on the upcoming shareholder assembly.
“I don’t need to discover that I’ve bought like so little management that I can simply be ousted by activist shareholders after having this military of humanoid robots. I believe as I’ve talked about earlier than, I believe my management over Tesla ought to be sufficient to make sure that it goes in a great path, however not a lot management that I can’t be thrown out if I am going loopy,” stated Musk in the course of the earnings name.
Tesla Board Accepted a New Compensation Plan for Musk
Earlier this month, Tesla’s board approved a new compensation package for Musk, granting him a share award valued at roughly $29 billion. This resolution follows a protracted authorized battle and a previous Delaware courtroom ruling that voided Musk’s 2018 compensation plan, which was then price over $50 billion.
The brand new compensation plan, which is but to be ratified by Tesla shareholders, grants Musk 96 million Tesla shares at $23.34 per share, contingent upon his remaining in steady service till Aug. 3, 2027, both within the capability as a CEO or as an govt officer of Tesla, taking care of product improvement or operations.
In its regulatory submitting, Tesla stated that retaining Musk is “extra vital than ever earlier than” for the reason that firm “is at a crucial inflection level that has the potential to create continued extraordinary worth” for shareholders.”
The submitting added, “By way of Elon’s distinctive imaginative and prescient and management, Tesla is transitioning from its position as a pacesetter within the electrical automobile and renewable vitality industries to develop in direction of changing into a pacesetter in AI, robotics, and associated providers.”
In the meantime, markets appear to provide a thumbs as much as Tesla disbanding its Dojo crew, and the inventory is buying and selling practically 2% larger in early commerce at present.
