Reports on Tesla forming a semiconductor joint venture with a Switzerland-based semiconductor company in China have circulated online (some are now deleted). For this matter, EV media electrek has made investigation, but DIGITIMES dug deeper.
According to Baidu Aiqicha, a search engine for company registration, Annex Semiconductor Limited does exist – though in Jinan, China, not Switzerland.
Annex Semiconductor Jinan was established on October 19, 2022 with a registered capital of US$150 million, dedicated to semiconductor manufacturing and auto components manufacturing. Disclosed information indicates that one of its main three stakeholders is a company named "Tesla Motors Limited" – which is probably not the legitimate Tesla Inc.
Tesla Motors Limited holds 5% of stakes in Annex Semiconductor Jinan, about US$7.5 million. The other stakeholder, Jinan Zurich Annex Security Investment Fund, established on September 26, 2022, is a joint venture by two other investment funds based in China.
Now, the official subsidiaries of Elon Musk's Tesla Inc. in China are named simply "Tesla" with Tom Zhu being the chairman of the Shanghai subsidiary -- established in 2018, and Elon Musk being the CEO of the Beijing subsidiary – established in 2003.
If we search Tesla in Mandarin on Aiqicha, there are 1,319 search results.
Last week, Tesla was rumored to have placed a massive order with TSMC to manufacture its next-generation Full Self-Driving (FSD) chips, potentially making it one of the Taiwan-based foundry's largest customers, according to various reports citing Taiwanese media Economy Daily News.
Stakeholders of Annex Semiconductor Limited on Aiqicha; Source: Baidu Aiqicha
