Musk announced Terafab: a new chip factory for Tesla, robots, and space exploration
23 March 21:54
The American tech companies Tesla and SpaceX plan to build a large chip manufacturing plant in Austin.
This was announced by Elon Musk, CEO of both companies, during a speech at an event in Austin, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to him, the facility, named Terafab, is set to become a key source of chips for Tesla and SpaceX technologies.
“Either we build Terafab, or we won’t have chips,” Musk said.
What is known about Terafab
The future Terafab complex is planned to be located in Austin—a city where one of Tesla’s major factories is already in operation.
According to Elon Musk, the factory:
- produce chips for Tesla electric vehicles;
- create microchips for the humanoid robot
; - manufacture components for SpaceX
SpaceX.
The plant is planned to be divided into two sections, each of which will produce a separate type of microchip.
What are these chips for?
In addition to cars and robots, microchips can be used in space projects.
In particular, SpaceX plans to deploy a large network of satellites capable of performing computations for artificial intelligence systems directly in space.
Such plans require large quantities of specialized chips.
Why Tesla wants its own factory
According to Musk, current chip manufacturing partners cannot keep up with the required pace.
This includes global chip manufacturers such as:
- Samsung Electronics
- TSMC.
According to Musk, their plans to expand production do not meet the needs of Tesla and SpaceX.
How much could this cost?
Analysts at investment bank Morgan Stanley estimate that building its own chip manufacturing plant could cost Tesla well over $20 billion.
Building such a facility typically takes several years.
The launch timeline for Terafab and the division of roles between Tesla and SpaceX have not yet been specified.
Musk’s new investments in AI
Meanwhile, another of Musk’s companies—xAI—plans to invest over $20 billion in building a large data center in Mississippi.
