Tesla is asking the fabs what new chip technology they will provide going forward so they do the required physical mods and modify or come up with new from scratch software.
Tesla will not take out GM. GM will take out GM.
In a past (work) life, part of my job was to keep the latest product (IC) roadmaps in front of key customer engineers.
You have a point about GM.... there is no way in _______ a major IC manufacturer does not communicate their lifecycle roadmaps, at least on key components, to GM.
When I was in the game an Intel, Motorola, TI etc would be giving AT LEAST 12 months notice of the Last Time Buy date on processors and other proprietary parts.
Smarter OEMs paid attention, and did their planning accordingly - coming up to Last Time Buy, they decided how many years worth of product they wanted to support and ordered accordingly. Better IC manufacturers also allowed a different (later) Last Time Ship date - they didn't expect you to take all x years worth of product in one delivery.
Elon's from the Valley, so he came up in the midst of the player's that intuitively understand
and drive the fast-changing game of IC production.
It's not the sexy part of Engineering (and, generally unheard of in public), but a good Component Engineering group can make a huge difference in how smoothly Production flows over time. That is, providing their Corporation heeds the advice re. spending what $ at what milestones in Time.
I see future EVs moving through design-build-buy-End of Life cycles much closer to how Apple sells iPhones, than what our generations knew as lifespans for automobiles.... esp. if you live outside the salty/rusty north or seacoast regions.....
That ^ vector, is one of the reasons I'm pretty tough
today on the Battery-Recycling issue..... I'd be tough on it anyway, but I double-down when it's something that is supposed to be Saving the Planet......
Rgds, D.
