Elon Musk confirms Tesla is building its own chips for Autopilot

Enlarge / Elon Musk in 2016. (credit: PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Tesla is building its own custom AI chips, CEO Elon Musk acknowledged on Thursday night according to reports from CNBC and the Register.

"Jim is developing specialized AI hardware that we think will be the best in the world," Musk said at a Tesla-organized party.

"Jim" is Jim Keller, a well-known chip engineer that Tesla recruited last year to lead Tesla's Autopilot hardware efforts. Keller has held key positions at both AMD and Apple.