Tesla’s next-gen AI chip faces big delay, creating a Cybercab problem

21 November 2025

Tesla just hit a big speed bump on the way to fully self-driving robotaxis. Elon Musk confirmed a big delay for the company's next-generation AI5 chip. This new hardware, which Tesla sees as the key to unlocking true, unsupervised autonomy in its electric cars, will not be ready in large numbers until the middle of 2027.

This is a major, but not entirely surprising, shift from previous promises, and it casts a large shadow over the planned launch of the company's dedicated robotaxi, the Tesla Cybercab. Mr. Musk shared the updated timeline on X (formerly Twitter), where he told the public that the AI5 chip would not be available in enough volume to install on the production line until mid-2027.

To make the switch, Tesla needs "several hundred thousand completed AI5 boards," a goal that is now two years farther away than the company first planned. Just last year, in June 2024, Musk had a very different timeline, stating the chip would be in electric cars in the second half of 2025.

For over a year, Musk has talked up the AI5 chip - once called Hardware 5 or HW5 - saying it would be ten times more powerful than the current system. This massive power boost was supposed to be the key to making the current computer in Teslas seem old-fashioned, but now, the older hardware will stay in the lead for much longer.

The delay of the powerful AI5 chip creates a serious scheduling conflict for Tesla's future plans. The company has publicly announced that production of the Cybercab will start in 2026, with Musk recently pointing to a target launch around the second quarter of 2026. The Cybercab is a purpose-built vehicle designed to operate without a human driver and, crucially, without any controls - meaning no pedals or steering wheel.

The big problem is that if the Cybercab begins production in 2026, and the AI5 chip isn't ready until mid-2027, the robotaxi will have to use the existing AI4 hardware. The AI4 computer has been in all Tesla cars since 2024, but it is simply not capable of achieving the fully unsupervised level of autonomy that the company has been promising for a decade. This means the brand-new Cybercab will launch with the same computer hardware found in today's models, and will require the driver to still pay attention.

The good news for current owners is that their AI4 systems remain relevant for a little bit longer, and Tesla must work hard to improve the software to make it work with the current computer's power. But it is also bad news because a major step forward in self-driving technology has been postponed again, and the company is still unable to deliver on the promise of true, hands-off autonomy.

This situation has led to an interesting debate among Tesla's leadership about the Cybercab's physical design. The company's chairwoman recently suggested that the automaker might have to add a steering wheel and pedals to the robotaxi just in case the self-driving software isn't ready for unsupervised use by the launch date.

Elon Musk quickly rejected this idea just days later, confirming that the Cybercab would still launch without pedals or a steering wheel. This firm stance makes the upcoming launch even riskier. Launching a vehicle program that is essentially useless outside of very limited, contained areas would mean a huge investment for very little return.

For customers waiting for the next big leap in autonomous driving from Tesla, the mid-2027 timeline for the AI5 chip is hugely disappointing. It confirms that the company's next major innovation in self-driving EVs is years away. The conflict between the scheduled 2026 launch of the Cybercab and the use of the older AI4 hardware forces the company to rely on software wizardry to make up for a lack of computer power.

Many experts feel that relying on an older computer for a vehicle that has no driver controls presents a massive safety risk. It seems more than likely that the final version of the Cybercab, despite Musk's claims, will need to include a steering wheel and pedals as a necessary backup system. This would allow the vehicle to be used safely and widely while the company waits for the AI5 chip to finally arrive.

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