SpaceX Is Building a Chip Factory in Texas. Here's What's Actually on Paper.

Kind: captions Language: en a chip factory in Texas, built by SpaceX, 100 million square feet. Dude, I had to read that twice. This is Terafactory, and it is one of the boldest bets on American manufacturing I have ever seen. Today, I'm going to walk you through what is actually on paper. Not the hype, not the rumors, the official documents. What it is, where it is, what it cost, who signed on, and the one thing Elon made crystal clear on October 7th. By the end, you get my verdict. Let's go. On August 6th, Tesla posted a plane. Terafactory will be built in Grimes County, Texas. SpaceX posted this, and it gave me chills. The foundations for an exciting future are being built in Texas. Next up, Terafactory. So, what is it? SpaceX will build a vertically integrated semiconductor fabrication plant in Grimes County, Texas. That is a chip fab. The place where chips get made. Vertically integrated means one company controls the whole chain, start to finish. No waiting on somebody else. No begging for a spot in line. You own the process, you own the speed. And the governor's office says it in black and white, 100 million square feet under a single roof. Now, Elon has gone even bigger with his own words. In a post on X, he said Terafactory will be 50 times the size of the Pentagon when complete. That is Elon's claim, and I am telling you it is his claim. Truth over team. But, the 100 million square feet, that one is on the governor's page. Here is the number that made me sit up. Phase one alone is more than 16.8 billion dollars and 3,000 jobs. Not some distant someday jobs. The governor's release spells out who they are for. Engineers, technicians, and plant operator personnel. Real careers. The kind a young person in a small Texas town can build a whole life on. That is what lifts me up about this story. Somebody's kid is going to walk into that plant and help make the chips that run the future right here in America. And think about everybody around those 3,000 people. The diner down the road, the guy who fixes the trucks, the teacher whose class just got bigger. When builders show up, a whole town gets a lift. Subscribe if you want the facts without the team jersey. One honest breakdown every week. Texas puts skin in the game. A $30 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund. And Terafab is a qualified JETI project. That is the state's jobs and investment program. And here is something I love. This was not a quiet backroom thing. The paperwork is public. On the Texas Comptroller's site, you can see eight agreements number J0035 through J0042. Eight local school districts signed on including Iola ISD and Anderson-Shiro CISD. I'm always going to point you to the source. Go look. That is how you beat the spin. And the total? The governor's figure for phase one is more than $16.8 billion. That is the number I am going with. So, when does it happen? The application on file with the comptroller lays it out. Construction from 2026 to 2028. Operations in 2029. SpaceX headlined its August 6th update breaking ground on Terafab in Texas. And news reports, including drone footage from October 6th, show site work underway in Grimes County. That is this year, brethren. And here's the honest part, because I don't do hype. The supplement to that application says, word for word, "After completing construction of each phase, applicant would then determine whether to proceed with constructing the future phases." So, let me be straight with you. Phase one is the plan on paper. Every phase after that gets decided after the one before it is built. That is how a smart builder works. Build it, prove it, then go bigger. Anybody who tells you the whole giant thing is locked in, they did not read the documents. I did. Now, let's hear from the people who actually live there. Grimes County Judge Joe Fauth III said this. "This is a generational change for Grimes County. Generational." Think about that. The county that most of the country has never heard of is about to be on the map for the next generation. The school districts were part of it, too. Iola ISD spoke up in the governor's release. And Anderson-Shiro CISD signed as well. When the schools are at the table, that tells you this is about the kids in the town, not just a ribbon-cutting. And Elon was quoted in the governor's release, too. It opens with the foundations for the most exciting future. That is the spirit of the whole thing. I love this. Small town America, big future. That is the America I believe in. Okay. Earlier this month, there was chatter about who would actually run this fab. Elon answered it. And I want to be precise here. This was a reply to two accounts, @herbertong and @thejefflutz. Here is exactly what he wrote. "No, we will build and run the fab. Let there be zero doubt about that. Maybe TSMC subleases part of the Terafab if they want, but nothing more than that. Zero doubt." In capital letters. That is an American company saying we will build it and we will run it. Not hand it off. Not outsource the hard part. I freaking love that energy. On October 15th on TSMC's earning call, CEO C. C. Wei said TSMC is still in discussion with the customer building Terafab. "There is no solid conclusion yet. And the fab has got to be run by TSMC." So, Elon and TSMC gave two different answers. And it is not settled yet. And then at the X Takeover event in Austin on October 10th, Elon spoke by video. As posted by Sawyer Merritt, Musk said he still has a lot to learn about chip making and pointed out he didn't know how to make cars or rockets. That is how Sawyer posted it and his post is linked below. But the point lands. Every great builder starts as a beginner. Now, truth over team means I tell you what I don't know, too. SpaceX headlined its August update breaking ground on Terafab. And news reports show site work underway. The comptroller paperwork still frames construction across 2026 to 2028. Filings show up to $119 billion across four phases. Later phases are not locked. The only phase on firm footing is phase one. And the governor's number for it is more than $16.8 billion. I don't have a full recording of Elon's October 10th remarks. I have what Sawyer Merritt posted and I told you where it came from. An Elon size claim, 50 times the Pentagon, I can't check on any official page yet. So it stays labeled as Elon's claim. That is not me being negative. That is me respecting you. You deserve to know which parts are signed and which parts are promises. When more lands, you will hear it here first with the source on screen. Here is my verdict. Terafab is real. It is on paper and it is in Texas. The governor announced it. The comptroller lists eight agreements. The application gives a timeline. More than 16.8 billion dollars and 3,000 jobs in phase one. The 50 times the Pentagon line is Elon's claim. Watch it. Hold him to it. That is fair. And future phases are not locked. The company decides after each phase. That is the honest picture. But here is what gets me. For years leaders told us America could not make things anymore. That the factories were gone for good. Well, look at Grimes County. Engineers, technicians, plant operators, school districts at the table, a county judge calling it generation. That is not doom. That is hope with a building permit. America is a miracle. I will keep tracking Terafab and bring you the next official update the day it lands. That's the verdict. The video on screen right now picks it up from here. Tap it. Truth over team. Fritz out. Peace and love. >> Woo!