Overview
Tesla has announced its decision to relocate the Dojo supercomputer project to Buffalo, New York. The move was motivated by the city’s reliable power supply, strong talent pool, and availability of suitable space for the project, according to Governor Hochul’s office.
Dojo, which was initially revealed during Tesla’s “AI Day” event in 2021, is a supercomputer designed to support the company’s vision of developing self-driving cars. It will be utilized to process vast amounts of video data from Tesla’s electric vehicles, enabling the training of the company’s cutting-edge Full Self-Driving Beta software.
History and Priorities
Buffalo’s location has undergone various shifts in priority for Tesla, often causing challenges for New York state. Previously referred to as “Gigafactory 2,” the factory was acquired by Tesla from SolarCity in 2016. However, Panasonic, Tesla’s partner, withdrew from the plant in 2020. Consequently, Tesla shifted its focus to hiring individuals responsible for labeling training data for its less advanced Autopilot software.
Future Expansion and Investment
Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, mentioned plans for the Dojo project’s expansion, including Dojo 1.5, Dojo 2, and future iterations. He acknowledged the high-risk nature of the program but expressed confidence in scaling it up.
Although the $500 million investment garnered applause during Governor Hochul’s press conference, Musk downplayed the significance of this figure. In a social media post, he stated that Tesla would allocate substantially more funds toward Nvidia hardware in 2024. Musk clarified that while $500 million is a substantial sum, it is equivalent to the cost of a 10k H100 system from Nvidia.
By relocating the Dojo supercomputer to Buffalo, Tesla aims to leverage the city’s advantageous resources to propel its self-driving technology development. The project’s move signifies Tesla’s commitment to advancing autonomous driving technologies and highlights the potential for Buffalo to become a hub for cutting-edge AI and automotive innovation.