Tesla, which touted its efforts in artificial intelligence in its latest earnings report, appears to be increasing its investment in artificial intelligence.
The Austin automaker agreed this month to buy an unnamed AI hardware company for up to $2 billion in Tesla common stock and stock compensation, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The approximately $1.8 billion will be subject to certain service conditions and the successful implementation of the company’s technology, according to the filing.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on the deal, and it’s unclear what the company plans to use the hardware for. Tesla’s recent AI efforts include completing the final chip design for its next-generation AI5 inference processor and software improvements with a new version of fully autonomous driving launched this month.
The filing also said construction is underway for continued expansion of Tesla’s facilities, equipment, and tooling related to product manufacturing and AI-related assets that are not yet operational.
In Wednesday’s earnings call, CEO Elon Musk emphasized that the company is in the investment phase, and expects capital spending to exceed $25 billion in 2026. By comparison, Tesla’s annual capital spending in recent years was $8.5 billion in 2025 and $11.3 billion in 2024.
Some of Tesla’s latest investments will go toward AI-related efforts, including its robotaxi service and Optimus Humanoid, the company said.
Gigafactory Texas will receive at least some of that spending. Tesla has announced it will build a research fab on its east Austin campus to begin the so-called TerraFab project. Tesla also plans to build the Optimus factory in Gigafactory Texas, which is expected to have the capacity to produce 10 million robots a year. Meanwhile, the first large-scale Optimus plant will be built in Fremont, California, replacing the Model S and Model X lines previously located there.
Tesla’s previous acquisitions have included solar power maker SolarCity, among others. Musk’s cousins Lyndon and Peter Rib founded the company, with Musk serving as chairman of the board. The most recent acquisition was in 2023, when Tesla bought and later sold wireless charging startup Wyferion.
