Meta, Tesla Fuel $155B AI Spending Surge as Chip Bottlenecks Loom

Meta Platforms Inc. will double 2026 capex to $135B, while Tesla allocates $20B for AI, robotics, and self-driving tech — plus $2B to Elon Musk’s xAI — escalating the race for AI dominance amid global semiconductor shortages. Zuckerberg signaled “major AI acceleration” post-2025 overhaul, with new models imminent; Meta shares jumped 11% after earnings beat. Meanwhile, Microsoft and SAP tumbled on AI spending concerns — Microsoft missed Azure growth expectations, SAP warned of cloud backlog weakness. Chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix saw multi-fold profit surges supplying Nvidia’s AI accelerators, though Samsung dipped 1% despite nearing HBM4 certification for Nvidia’s Rubin chips. Musk warned Tesla may build its own chip fab to avoid a “chip wall.” Analysts warn unprecedented valuations and supply constraints risk market correction if AI demand falters.