Musk: China Leads in Chip Production, But May Struggle With New Tech

Elon Musk stated that China's ability to scale production in the memory chip industry is among the best globally, though challenges may arise with next-generation technologies.

Musk referenced China's recent progress in developing DDR5 memory chips using hybrid bonding and 4F² technology, which is expected to be available by year's end, compared to Samsung's projected 3028 release.

He also noted that while China appears to be rapidly solving standard memory chip designs, it may find it harder to adapt to more complex technologies such as HBM and 3D stacking.

Musk highlighted SpaceX as an anomaly in China's production dominance, citing the company's consistent success in payload delivery to orbit despite China's overall manufacturing strength.

In the memory chip space, Musk expressed cautious optimism, suggesting that producing RAM chips could be another challenge for China, though it is making rapid progress with standard chip designs.

Chinese firm Naura recently demonstrated a breakthrough in 3D DRAM technology, showcasing a 64-layer stack using Silicon and Silicon-Germanium layers to improve performance metrics.