Forget Sensors, Tesla's AI Training Costs Are Soaring - CleanTechnica

The article from CleanTechnica highlights the rapidly increasing costs Tesla is incurring for AI training infrastructure as it pushes toward full self-driving and robotaxi deployment. Tesla has long argued against using expensive sensors like lidar and radar, favoring cameras combined with AI software to reduce costs. However, recent financial disclosures reveal that Tesla’s operating expenses surged 39% in Q4 2024, largely driven by AI and R&D projects. Tesla is significantly expanding its AI training compute capacity, particularly at its Gigafactory Texas, where it plans to more than double onsite compute power in the first half of 2026. This expansion is costly and carefully managed to avoid overbuilding capacity prematurely. Despite years of promises, Tesla has yet to deploy fully driverless robotaxis without human supervisors, currently operating limited supervised trials in cities like Austin and San Francisco. The rollout is progressing city-by-city, contrary to earlier claims that Tesla could enable robotaxi service fleet-wide simultaneously. The company faces a critical juncture: