It looks like we have one more person (or group) to blame for the Nvidia RTX 3000-series GPU shortages: thieves have stolen some 40 containers of the next-generation graphics cards worth over $300,000 from a factory in China. This was straight from MSI's production facility, where the cards were being produced and packaged before shipping out to retailers. In total some 200 of the cards were stolen, which will only contribute to the global shortage and price gouging we've seen in recent months.
With the shipping area said to be under heavy surveillance, PCGamer reports that it could have been an inside job, with factory worker(s) deciding that making quick (and quite serious) bank with this theft is worth the potential risk involved.
Considering each card retails at $1,500 and can go for over $2,000 on auction sites, it's perhaps easy to understand why.
MSI Chinese mainland factory was stolen, stolen 40 boxes RTX3090, the total value of 2200000RMB ......
MSI has been officially announced and informed to the police ,Reward of 100000 RMB for reporting effective information. pic.twitter.com/JWw8hOMioG— 夕惕若厉 (@GoFlying8) December 7, 2020
To help catch those involved, MSI is currently offering a $15,000 reward for any actionable information that leads to the recovery of the stolen cards. It's even offering clemency to anyone involved if they help in the same manner.
