[News] TSMC’s N3P to Enter Mass Production in the Second Half of Next Year, Rumored Inclusion of Tesla in Customer List

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TSMC, the world’s leading foundry in the 3nm technology, is reportedly experiencing a surge in the number of New Tape-Outs (NTOs) for the 3nm family in 2024, with Clients such as MediaTek, AMD, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and Intel.

Among the 3nm family, the N3P process, set for mass production in the second half of 2024, is also making significant progress. Rumors suggest that Tesla has been added to the list of customers, with plans to utilize the N3P for the production of next-generation Full Self-Driving (FSD) chips after its launch.

Currently, Tesla has placed orders with TSMC for numerous chips related to electric vehicles. For instance, the supercomputer chip “D1” is utilizing TSMC’s 7nm technology along with advanced packaging processes.

Reportedly, according to industry sources, Tesla’s older FSD chips were initially produced using Samsung’s 14nm process, later upgraded to Samsung’s 7nm process. Subsequently, considering design upgrades, production quality, and scale, Tesla has shifted its HW 4.0 autonomous driving chip production to TSMC, utilizing the 5nm technology family.

The latest information per the report indicates that Tesla has recently initiated a NTO process with TSMC, planning to utilize the N3P for the production of the fifth generation of self-driving vehicle chips. Market expectations are high, with the influx of relevant orders suggesting that Tesla has the potential to become one of TSMC’s major clients.

According to TSMC’s previously disclosed process roadmap, the N3P process is an advanced version within the 3nm family, scheduled for production in 2024. Compared to the N3E, the N3P boasts a 5% improvement in performance, a 5% to 10% reduction in power consumption, and a 1.04 times increase in chip density.

Read more

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(Photo credit: TSMC)