Elon Musk, described in the article as a trillionaire, wrote on X on Wednesday to respond to a video on the platform. He clarified that his business group will both build and run Terafab, aiming to end rumors that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. would take over operating the project.
Musk acknowledged recent talks with TSMC but limited the conversation to a possible lease of part of the planned site, saying "Maybe TSMC subleases part of the Terafab if they want, but nothing more than that." He added that any TSMC involvement would not include operating the facility. TSMC did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.
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Terafab is planned in Texas to produce advanced semiconductors for Tesla's automobile and robotics work and for SpaceXAI, which combines space technology and the xAI team developing Grok. Bloomberg News reported last week that TSMC is considering a large new chipmaking campus in Texas, and the company is expanding its U.S. production footprint while counting Nvidia Corp. and Apple Inc. among its major customers. Samsung Electronics Co. is also developing a plant in Texas, meaning the state's chip industry already includes both the Terafab project and Samsung's planned facility.
The project brings a new, in-house chip effort aimed squarely at Musk's companies and is drawing attention from major chipmakers and suppliers. Keep an eye on how Terafab's partnerships and Texas developments could affect companies linked to chip production and supply chains, since Intel Corp. is already involved in the technology for the plant.
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