This is THE rumor that has been setting the hardware world on fire for several days: according to SemiAccuratea source generally considered one of the most reliable and respected in the semiconductor industry, Elon Musk is reportedly considering taking advantage of Intel's woes to buy the company. An operation full of potential implications for the founder, for the billionaire's industrial empire, and even for American tech as a whole.
At first glance, this scenario may seem excessively far-fetched. But there are several elements of context which nevertheless make it relatively credible.
Intel, a giant in difficulty
The first is the extremely worrying state of health of Intel. This historic CPU titan that once dominated its segment head and shoulders is now a shadow of its former self. The blue team has lost its technological leadership by stringing together several generations of disappointing products while the competition, starting with AMD, is following a diametrically opposite trajectory. Former CEO Pat Gelsinger's IDM 2.0 plan, which aimed to revitalize the company with a radical transformation of its activities (massive investments in new generation factories, expansion of foundry services for third-party clients, etc.) also did not produce the expected results.
At the same time, Intel also failed to anticipate the AI shift that has propelled Nvidia among the most valuable companies in the world. All of these factors contributed to a terrible stock market collapse and the firing of CEO Pat Gelsinger last December.
Economically shaky, in difficulty technologically and fragile in terms of leadership… Intel is therefore in a very delicate position and desperately needs a new lease of life; this vulnerability could actually convince the board of directors to open the doors to a potential buyer.
An idea consistent with the political weather
The second element which encourages us not to brush this information aside is essentially political. Trump has already announced that one of his priority objectives would be to allow the United States to regain the leadership that Asia, and in particular the Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC, has seized in recent years.
Today, Uncle Sam's status as a technological superpower depends largely on his relations with Taiwan. However, despite the reluctance of part of the international community, China (the United States' great economic rival and Trump's favorite target during his last term) continues to claim that the island is part of its territory. The result is a political situation that is both complex and tense which, one day, could lead to a diplomatic crisis with very significant consequences for companies like Nvidia.
-It is partly to avoid such a scenario that the Biden administration launched its Chips & Science Act, a huge investment plan worth several hundred billion dollars specifically designed to “counter” China's influence.
Intel is one of the companies that have benefited greatly from this envelope; it received significant subsidies to open cutting-edge factories, with the aim of regaining part of its independence.
A takeover by Elon Musk could therefore be encouraged and even facilitated by the new government, which would have every interest in seeing Intel fall into the hands of the tycoon. It's no secret that Elon Musk has been vigorously involved in Donald Trump's campaign, and that he enjoys a very good image among the newly inaugurated president's supporters who see him as some kind of super -patriotic genius.
A significant financial strike force
The last strong argument is that Musk has both a very significant financial strength (notably through its company SpaceX) and a some experience in recycling large companiesas evidenced by its purchase of Twitter / But would it be in his interest? Probably. From Tesla to SpaceX to xAI and, to some extent, X, a large part of its portfolio is constantly looking for brand new hardware; by becoming a major player in this industry, we imagine that Musk could further strengthen the autonomy and solidity of his industrial empire.
It should be noted, however, that according to SemiAccurate, even if Musk's teams are indeed studying an acquisition of Intel, this does not mean that they have already gone on the offensive or that they will end up doing so. It will therefore be advisable to be patient while awaiting possible official declarations. But what is certain is that we will have to monitor this affair like milk on fire, because this scenario, ultimately not as improbable as it seems, could shake up the tech ecosystem that we know today. .
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