Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, publicly criticized the pricing policies of memory chipmakers other than U.S.-based Micron Technology.
In a post on his social platform X, formerly Twitter, on the 14th Korea time, Musk said Micron had been reasonable about future memory prices while other suppliers had demanded extortionate prices.
He added that customers would not forget the current situation, and said Micron was making a smart choice to secure long-term customer loyalty.
Musk made the comments in a reply to a post outlining J.P. Morgan's outlook for the memory chip market.
J.P. Morgan projected the memory chip supply shortfall at about 20% this year, 19% in 2027 and 15% in 2028. It also forecast that the market for high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, where demand has surged with the expansion of the artificial intelligence industry, would more than quadruple to $280 billion in 2028 from about $64 billion this year.
As the supply shortage drags on, bargaining power over prices is shifting toward memory manufacturers. Micron has secured 26 long-term supply contracts and has committed more than 75% of its fiscal 2027 output under supply agreements, according to J.P. Morgan. Recent high price levels are also being reflected in new contracts, the bank said.
Against that backdrop, Musk gave a positive assessment of Micron's pricing policy while voicing frustration with how other memory suppliers set prices.
The global DRAM market is dominated by three players: Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron. The three also compete in the HBM market, which is essential for AI servers. Because Musk praised Micron by name while criticizing other suppliers, some have raised the possibility that he had Samsung Electronics and SK hynix in mind.
Musk did not name Samsung Electronics or SK hynix directly, however. He also did not disclose which companies he had negotiated with or what prices he had been quoted, making it difficult to conclude that he was targeting any specific company.
Rising memory chip prices are also affecting the consumer market. Costs for smartphone and PC makers have climbed as prices for key components such as DRAM jump, putting upward pressure on finished-product prices.
Memory suppliers have gained the upper hand in price negotiations amid expanding AI demand and tight supply, but Musk warned that such pricing policies could damage long-term customer relationships.
