Elon Musk on Wednesday said that TeraFab plans to use Intel's 14A fabrication technology when it has its own production capacity later this decade and when the manufacturing process matures. He also revealed that Tesla will be responsible for building and operating a pilot production line, whereas SpaceX will be responsible for high-volume manufacturing of chips.
Wolfe highlighted Terafab, a large-scale chip fabrication facility announced in the first half of 2026, as another key data point, with Intel named as a partner citing its expertise across design, fabrication and packaging.
May 22, 2026 · Simply Wall St · Reviewed by Sasha Jovanovic · In recent weeks, Intel’s AI-focused chip push has intersected with multiple developments, including SCRT Labs integrating Intel Trust Authority into SecretVM for default hardware attestation and Intel–linked roles in the Terafab project and a preliminary Apple chip-making arrangement, while shareholder proposals on China risk, human rights due diligence, and chair–CEO separation failed at the May annual meeting.
During Tesla’s April earnings ... factory Terafab, a joint effort between Intel, Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, will use both 18A and 14A technologies. The project is widely seen as a potential boost for Intel’s foundry business, which has faced ongoing challenges....
Let's dissect this TAM trompe-l'œil. The filing bundles Starlink (satellite broadband), Starship (launch services), Terafab (semiconductor manufacturing), and Groth AI (large language models) into one glorious spreadsheet cell. Each gets multiplied by some consultant's "by 2035" forecast.
Falcon Heavy Roars Back to Life with Powerful Broadband Satellite Launch · 2 May 2026 · SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Cygnus XL for NASA ISS Resupply Mission · 13 April 2026 · Intel Joins Elon Musk’s Terafab Project to Build Chips for Humanoid Robots and Data Centres ·
Across Terafab (chips), COLOSSUS (training), Grok (model), X (data and distribution), and Cursor (developer applications), SpaceX is building what it pitches as the only fully vertically integrated AI company. The economic claim is that controlling every layer drives cost-per-token down faster than competitors and compounds the advantage over time.
Terafab is not a done chip plant. Based on S‑1 legal disclosure and consistent media paraphrases, SpaceX and Tesla/Intel have only a general framework; key economic and IP terms are not finalized, there are no binding commitments to continue, and there is explicit risk that definitive agreements may never be signed.
Intel’s 14A process is also designed to incorporate High-NA extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography tools from ASML, which offer higher resolution patterning compared with current EUV systems.
The most significant is high-NA EUV lithography, an advanced version of the extreme ultraviolet light-based chip printing process that uses a higher numerical aperture lens to draw finer, more precise circuit patterns.
These machines use extreme ultraviolet light to print atomic-scale patterns onto silicon wafers. A single unit costs upwards of $200 million, and a modern, high-volume fab requires between 15 and 20 of them just to operate.
The news arrives after Wedbush's Dan Ives said in March that he sees Terafab as a possible step toward a Tesla-SpaceX merger in 2027, while Gary Black warned that such a deal could cut Tesla's value by 20% to 25% through dilution.
MOVE 1: SpaceX filed permits for a $55 BILLION chip fabrication facility in Texas. A TERAFAB — the largest semiconductor plant ever proposed on American soil. They’re not building satellites anymore. They’re building the hardware for an entirely new global infrastructure.
Facility 2 (Space-grade): Focused on high-powered AI chips designed for orbital data centers — essentially AI satellites in space, supporting what is expected to be a next-generation Starlink intelligence layer. The target process node is 2 nanometers — putting Terafab in direct competition with TSMC's most advanced production lines.
What’s up with Elon Musk’s Terafab? Explore More... As a result of this latest launch, the total number of active satellites orbiting Earth as part of the Starlink constellation is just shy of 10,500, says satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.