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I wonder if/when Tesla will be impacted by this? They have their own chip designs and contract manufacturers, whereas GM, Ford and others are buying off-the-shelf components. It might be that Tesla is somewhat insulated from this shortage.
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Funny thing is, no mention from GM regarding its facilities in China!
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There is a lot in play right now with capacity, IP protection, and raw materials as well. But this is a very broad impact that we've been ramping up mitigation of to keep our own solutions flowing. The biggest impacts are to some of the latest models where advance chipset stocking itself came with a lead-time. Crazy times when normal 18-24 week IC leads turn into as long as 52 weeks - a dang year. A lot of moving parts, pardon the pun.
On the iP matter... there is that with China and what they continue to manufacture in country without legal license... which can not be exported. Big, gray area.
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ztirffritz wrote:
I wonder if/when Tesla will be impacted by this? They have their own chip designs and contract manufacturers, whereas GM, Ford and others are buying off-the-shelf components. It might be that Tesla is somewhat insulated from this shortage.
What's likely is, if it seriously impacts Tesla, they'll (very quickly) build a chip manufacturing plant of their own. They learned from SpaceX - if a subcontractor/supplier quotes an unacceptably long lead time, you can have a factory to build the part finished and operating faster than waiting for someone else to deliver the part... so don't wait!
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Just another reason to promote bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US or trade partners that are friendly.
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Paul F. wrote:
[quote=ztirffritz]
I wonder if/when Tesla will be impacted by this? They have their own chip designs and contract manufacturers, whereas GM, Ford and others are buying off-the-shelf components. It might be that Tesla is somewhat insulated from this shortage.
What's likely is, if it seriously impacts Tesla, they'll (very quickly) build a chip manufacturing plant of their own. They learned from SpaceX - if a subcontractor/supplier quotes an unacceptably long lead time, you can have a factory to build the part finished and operating faster than waiting for someone else to deliver the part... so don't wait!
Typical lead to to build a chip foundry is a couple years or more, and about $1 billion at a minimum. It can be lower for small scale production, especially if older tech is good enough.
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JoeH wrote:
[quote=Paul F.]
[quote=ztirffritz]
I wonder if/when Tesla will be impacted by this? They have their own chip designs and contract manufacturers, whereas GM, Ford and others are buying off-the-shelf components. It might be that Tesla is somewhat insulated from this shortage.
What's likely is, if it seriously impacts Tesla, they'll (very quickly) build a chip manufacturing plant of their own. They learned from SpaceX - if a subcontractor/supplier quotes an unacceptably long lead time, you can have a factory to build the part finished and operating faster than waiting for someone else to deliver the part... so don't wait!
Typical lead to to build a chip foundry is a couple years or more, and about $1 billion at a minimum. It can be lower for small scale production, especially if older tech is good enough.
We're already talking a lead time of HALF that for regular suppliers... And, if SpaceX can use some custom chips AND Tesla can, a partnership for a chip foundry isn't impossible...
Not saying they'll definitely do it, but, it's not out of the realm of possibility.
