Tesla’s ‘Cortex’ Supercomputer Is What Its Robotaxi Hopes Ride On

• Tesla’s “Cortex” supercomputer cluster is being in-built Austin, Texas, to help autonomous automobiles and humanoid robots.
• The supercomputer shall be powered by over 100,000 Nvidia H100 and H200 chips.
• The ability seems much like different information facilities, with thick cables and loud cooling programs.

As its lead within the electrical automobile arms race begins to wane, Tesla’s resolution for staying forward sooner or later is to concentrate on autonomous autos. However the way it supposedly goals to make automobiles drive themselves is totally different from different gamers on the market. 

It includes gathering colossal quantities of video footage from hundreds of thousands of its electrical automobiles worldwide, processing that info at AI-powered information facilities after which packaging that into software program updates earlier than sending them over-the-air with the objective of creating Teslas drive like people. To make this a actuality, Tesla has began constructing large information facilities at its Gigafactories.

One among these services is being constructed on the south aspect of the corporate’s headquarters in Austin, Texas. The system at this complicated is named Cortex, a “supercomputer cluster”  that can run on greater than 100,000 Nvidia H100 and H200 graphics processing items (GPUs) for video coaching of the Optimus humanoid robots and the Full-Self Driving (FSD) system.

CEO Elon Musk shared a video of Cortex this morning. Though the ability seems much like different information facilities, the entire atmosphere offers off a high-tech, futuristic vibe. It is one in all our first-ever appears to be like on the supposed know-how behind the know-how. 

There seem like numerous aisles of black server racks with tightly stacked {hardware} positioned behind glass doorways and casings. Thick bundles of crimson and blue cables appear to snake between the racks and there is a loud hum, probably emanating from the overhead cooling programs.

Talking of cooling, the ability has gargantuan followers on the roof, most likely the scale of an plane propeller, and even greater—Tesla is utilizing a patented cooling system for a similar. Furthermore, the Texas supercomputer will apparently require 500 megawatts of power in the future. A Duke University research stated a sports activities stadium can devour 5 mW of electrical energy throughout a sport. So 500 mW may energy about 100 such stadiums without delay, which highlights the power-hungry nature of AI information facilities. 

This is not Tesla’s solely supercomputer. The corporate can also be constructing its “Dojo” supercomputer at its New York Gigafactory, additionally for video coaching of the AI-based FSD programs in its future EVs. The top honcho claimed early this yr that Tesla is investing $500 million in New York to construct out this facility, which can also be producing the NACS adapters for house owners of Ford, Rivian and different manufacturers.

“5 hundred million, whereas clearly a big sum of cash, is just equal to a 10k H100 system from Nvidia,” Musk stated on the time. “Tesla will spend greater than that on Nvidia {hardware} this yr. The desk stakes for being aggressive in AI are at the very least a number of billion {dollars} per yr at this level.” (Nevertheless, Musk’s choice to prioritize sending Nvidia chips to social media platform X—which is privately held and technically unrelated to Tesla—raised some eyebrows earlier this yr.) 

One other one in Memphis is already operational. It is being expanded in the mean time and when full it will be “probably the most highly effective AI-training cluster on the earth,” in line with Musk.

Since asserting a pivot to AI and autonomy, the corporate’s passenger automobile and public charging companies have taken a again seat. Aside from the refreshed Model 3 and the Cybertruck, the remainder of Tesla’s line-up is ageing quick and that is considerably mirrored in its gross sales slip. Musk needs Tesla to be a tech firm constructing robotaxis, humanoid robots and AI.

For now, Tesla’s FSD has proven countless flaws in real-world driving situations and it would not fairly benefit the FSD label but. The automaker additionally hasn’t handled who or what can be liable in the event of a robotaxi crash, and it faces quite a few investigations—together with a U.S. Division of Justice probe—into the way it has offered this know-how to traders and the general public. 

We could get some solutions at Tesla’s robotaxi debut occasion on Oct. 10. 

Are you aware something about Tesla’s newest plans? Contact the creator; we’re blissful to talk securely and anonymously. suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com