American billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that the design of the new Tesla AI5 chip is "nearly complete." This comes as a surprise, given that back in 2025 he claimed the project was fully finished. The update raises questions about the timeline for key Tesla models and the true state of development.

In a recent post, Musk indicated that AI5 is approaching its final stages and confirmed that work on AI6 is in its early phases. This statement contrasts with his assertion a year ago, when the Tesla CEO insisted the project was already complete. In practice, development has been delayed, with mass production of the chip pushed to mid-2027.

This delay means the Tesla Cybercab, scheduled for 2026, will launch using the current AI4 hardware. Musk had previously promised that AI5 would deliver a tenfold increase in computing power and serve as the foundation for "fully autonomous" FSD capability. Relying on the older chip lowers expectations and increases the risk of further delays.

Musk also expressed his intention to accelerate the development of future generations—AI6, AI7, and AI8—to just nine months each. For the industry, this is a nearly unattainable benchmark: even companies like Apple spend years on architectural updates. The transition from HW3 to HW4 took several years, and AI5 is facing similar challenges.