The long-term deal, set to run until 2033, comes as a rare bit of good news for Samsung's foundry unit, which has been getting trounced by TSMC in the high-stakes chip race. Samsung's shares jumped 3.5 per cent on the Seoul exchange following the announcement, its sharpest one-day gain in nearly a month.

Nvidia and Qualcomm continue to cling tightly to TSMC, which according to TrendForce controls 67.6 per cent of the global foundry market. Meanwhile, Samsung's slice has shrunk to 7.7 per cent, down from 8.1 per cent in the previous quarter.

Tesla has already worked with Samsung for chipmaking, rubbing shoulders with other customers like Qualcomm. Still, it's miles away from TSMC’s all-star roster.

Bloomberg analysts seem optimistic that the new deal will jolt Samsung’s foundry revenues upwards by about 10 per cent annually, particularly as the company gears up for the 2nm process node.

BNK Investment & Securities analyst Min Hee Lee was not so sure. He reckons Samsung is still tinkering with its 2nm yields and doubts the new order will involve cutting-edge tech.

It’s anyone’s guess whether this chunky order will nudge forward production at Samsung’s Texas fab. The US site was supposed to be churning out chips this year but delays in locking down big-name clients left it spinning its wheels.