Cars.ad Tesla begins robotaxi production as automakers deepen bets on in-house and Nvidia AI chips
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said robotaxi production has started, while GM expanded its partnership with Nvidia and Nio signaled a shift toward in-house chips—highlighting a widening strategic fight over autonomy compute, costs and supply chain control.
Tesla begins robotaxi production as automakers deepen bets on in-house and Nvidia AI chips
Tesla says robotaxi production is underway, intensifying the autonomy compute race
Tesla has started producing its long-promised “robotaxi,” CEO Elon Musk said, sharing videos that he described as showing a driverless vehicle rolling off a factory floor, according to Auto Technology News at The Economic Times. The announcement comes shortly after Tesla reported first-quarter profit results, linking the new autonomy milestone to heightened investor scrutiny of the company’s near-term financial performance and longer-term growth plan.
The production claim lands as rival automakers and EV makers escalate investments in the semiconductor and AI infrastructure needed to support automated driving—either by leaning further into Nvidia’s platforms or by pursuing in-house silicon to reduce reliance on external suppliers.
GM expands Nvidia partnership for automated cars and factories
General Motors has partnered with Nvidia to integrate AI into “everything from vehicle development and manufacturing to self-driving cars,” Motor Authority reported. The expanded relationship signals a strategy that ties product development, factory operations and automated driving programs more closely to Nvidia’s automotive computing stack, at a time when advanced driver assistance and autonomy features are becoming a core competitive and cost driver.
By positioning AI compute as a shared backbone for both vehicles and industrial processes, GM is seeking efficiency gains in engineering and manufacturing while supporting longer-term automated driving ambitions, according to the Motor Authority report.
Nio bets on in-house chips to cut reliance on Nvidia
In China, EV maker Nio is betting on in-house chips as part of a strategy to cut reliance on Nvidia, according to Auto Technology News at The Economic Times. The move underscores a broader industry shift toward vertical integration in compute, as automakers weigh supply-chain resilience, performance control and unit economics.
Nio’s chip strategy also highlights growing competitive pressure in autonomy hardware, where platform costs and availability can directly affect vehicle margins and product cadence.
CES signals broader commercial push for autonomous vehicle rollouts
At CES 2026, AWS and German supplier Aumovio announced plans to back the commercial rollout of self-driving vehicles, while autonomous trucking firm Kodiak AI partnered with Bosch to scale hardware and sensor production, according to CBT News. The announcements point to an expanding ecosystem of cloud, supplier and manufacturing partnerships intended to reduce development costs and accelerate deployment, with AI and generative AI cited as key enablers.
Taken together with Tesla’s robotaxi production claim, the CES tie-ups highlight how commercialization efforts increasingly depend on coordinated scale across compute, sensors, cloud infrastructure and manufacturing.
References & Links
- Tesla “robotaxi” production (Auto Technology News / Economic Times): robotaxi production
- GM partnership with Nvidia AI chips for vehicles and factories (Motor Authority): Nvidia AI chips
- Nio in-house chips strategy to reduce reliance on Nvidia (Auto Technology News / Economic Times): in-house chips
- CES 2026 commercial rollout and ecosystem partnerships (CBT News): commercial rollout