Elon Musk’s China RAM Warning Raises Questions for Samsung, SK Hynix as South Korea Faces Potential Memory Chip Oversupply and Less Time To Diversify
Elon Musk warned that China will be “making a lot” of random-access memory (RAM) by 2028, amplifying concerns that a future chip glut could expose South Korea’s dependence on Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (OTC:SSNLF) and SK Hynix Inc. (NASDAQ:SKHY).
Musk Flags China’s Growing Memory Chip Output
"China will be making a LOT of RAM in 2028," Musk wrote Thursday on X, responding to P Equity Research’s summary of a South Korean column. The column warned that new capacity could cause oversupply in 2029 and argued Korea has two to three years to develop alternative growth industries.
China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies, aka CXMT, said in September its fifth-generation DRAM platform had entered mass production. Reuters reported that the company says its process can produce at least 50% more gross chip dies per wafer than its predecessor, underscoring China’s growing manufacturing capabilities.
South Korea’s Chip Dependence Raises Economic Risks
Reuters reported that CXMT held about 7.7% of the global DRAM market in 2025. However, it trails Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron in high-bandwidth memory used in AI accelerators. Musk previously acknowledged China’s manufacturing scale but said advanced memory "will be harder to solve."
South Korea’s government reported that September semiconductor exports jumped 263% to $60.3 billion, nearly half of its record $120.9 billion in total exports. Any future reversal in chip prices could therefore hit national export earnings.
Samsung And SK Hynix Face Market Uncertainty
Gartner expects memory to generate $837 billion, or 54% of worldwide semiconductor revenue, in 2026, up from 27% in 2025. It forecasts tight supplies through 2027. SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung told Reuters in July that demand could exceed supply beyond 2030.
Samsung shares fell 9.5% and SK Hynix lost 11.1% Thursday, Reuters reported, amid a wider technology selloff driven by U.S. inflation concerns and doubts over AI investment. The declines followed earlier market jitters over China’s chipmaking advances.
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