Intel gets trapped in Elon’s reality distortion field as it joins in megafab delusions

In the realm of his other unrealistic plans and potentially broken promises, Elon Musk's Terafab stands out as one of the biggest pipedreams, promising to boost semiconductor production by 50x for the benefit of orbital datacenters. But hey, this idea must have legs, because now Intel has announced it is joining the aspiring …

[DS999]

This will be good for Intel

For all the bluster what's happening is that Musk is fronting the money for Intel to build fabs. That solves their chicken and egg dilemma about becoming a fab - they need big customers to be a real fab but big customers won't sign up with them unless they know the capacity is there.

His terafab fantasy is still bs, and his claims about doing fabs "better" and without cleanrooms will be forgotten as quickly as the supersonic speeds through vacuum tunnels of the original hyperloop. He's just partnering with Intel in the same way that Apple partnered with TSMC by fronting the money for them to build fabs, helping supercharge their growth a decade ago.

[MachDiamond]

Re: This will be good for Intel

I don't see how it will be good for Intel.

With Tesla, Elon came in with a $6.5mn investment, took a board seat and demanded over $7mn in changes to the original Roadster that was on the cusp of being production ready. Stupid crap too like lowering the door sills because his starter wife had a hard time getting in while wearing a dress. This and that had to be changed to much more expensive carbon fiber, for looks, not function. People that had already paid for their vehicles and who were asked to pay more to get them with the added delays were not happy.

[DS999]

Re: This will be good for Intel

Tesla was a startup that was on the verge of going broke when he came in. He's not going to be able to make demands like that with Intel unless he is coming in with a 12 digit cash investment.

[Sparkus]

says the guy who.....

has his car company use non-auto rated displays and electronics resulting in vehicles that have a pretty short useful life.......

[phuzz]

Re: says the guy who.....

From the perspective of someone who only cares about making money, and doesn't care about their customers, that's just a shrewd business move.

Musk doesn't really understand long-term consequences.

[gosand]

Re: says the guy who.....

He doesn't understand long-term consequences because he has never faced them.

https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/

[Anonymous Coward]

Elon uses words differently to everyone else

Either that or he’s out of his freaking mind.

Again.

[Bebu sa Ware]

Re: Elon uses words differently to everyone else, or he’s out of his freaking mind.

Patently clear by now. Both.

Unfortunately it is an affliction endemic in the US particularly but also elsewhere.

Hard to argue with "Peak Insanity" save, perhaps for the "Peak."

[MachDiamond]

Launch costs

Driving down launch costs is the least thing to be done. The price of the payload is often far in excess of total launch costs. Yes, a cheap launcher will help as these satellites will have to be disposable and in lower orbits to minimize latency so they won't have long lifetimes.

The hurdles to get over long before there are so many orbiting data centers that insolation is significantly lower are many.

[MachDiamond]

Partnerships don't work

As we watch the sun setting on Tesla vehicle manufacturing, it has to be noted how the founders, Marc and Martin, had the vision. That vision was mapped out up to the Model 3 (Y being a fat version of the 3). Neuralink is nearly devoid of the founding visonairies. xAI has zero founders left apart from Elon, the money guy.

Elon doesn't play nice with others and there's loads of evidence for that going back a long time. I can't see how Intel would miss that unless they are in such trouble that they really need the collaboration to make some money. If it even gets off the ground, I won't expect it to last 12 months before hitting a brick wall and lots of insults spewing forth from Elon.

[simonlb]

Re: Partnerships don't work

Generally, partnerships do work pretty well, it's just that if the person running the larger of the parties involved is incapable of holding a cogent thought in their brain for more than seven microseconds the whole enterprise is doomed to fail pretty quickly because you just can't trust them.

About the only thing Musk is capable of is promising things that almost always fail to materialise, or that sort-of work, but just not anywhere near as well as they were supposed to.

[blu3b3rry]

Re: Partnerships don't work

I guess so long as intel get to keep the cash they won't be too bothered.

Never quite understood how people manage to fool themselves into thinking Musk is anything other than a spoiled brat waving around daddy's money.

[Groo The Wanderer - A Canuck]

After all the failure to deliver even vaguely on time and what was promised originally over all these decades DESERVES to be fleeced by a scam artist like Musk.

Talk, talk, talk. Pump those stocks, Elon.

May the Securities Commission have a few years worth of words waiting for you real soon now - words you'll hear from behind bars every day: THOU SHALT NOT BALDLY LIE TO THE PUBLIC TO PUMP STOCKS!!!

[Flocke Kroes]

Lying to the public is fine. Musk has got away with that for years. The problem comes when you lie to rich people. Just ask Elizabeth Holmes.

[Doctor Syntax]

The next [il]logical step must be fabs in orbit to supply the orbiting data centres. Harvest micrometeorites for silicon.

You know it makes sense - to Elon.

[Irongut]

He has already spoken of building factories on the moon to build his orbital datacenters. With a potentially civiisation ending capable mass driver, I'm sure we'll all be safe with Elon in control of that.

[Strahd Ivarius]

Elon won't be able to understand how to operate it

Grok, on the other hand...

[Schultz]

What the heck is he talking about?

"Increasing power on earth has become harder over time and more expensive over time, but in space, it actually becomes cheaper and easier over time."

The production cost of electrical power has come down significantly due to the development of inexpensive renewable energy.

[squigbobble]

One way out

The only way I see this working out well is if intel convince Elol to pay them to build and run a fab for him in return for his companies being preferred customers. Naturally, it'll be a cutting edge node as only the newest and shiniest toys are good enough for Elol. They desperately need to keep him away from any technical decisions, perhaps distracting him by letting him design the building facade and landscaping will work. Maybe throw in a campus Hyperloop.

I am, just this once, rooting for intel to fleece somebody.

[aardvarkus]

Let's face it, if they can somehow tack "space" onto "AI" the bubble could drive cosmic inflation.

[Anonymous Coward]

So, what you are saying is that Dark Energy is AI?

As good a theory as all the others, I guess...