Elon Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, plans to invest at least $55bn in a new semiconductor manufacturing facility in Texas aimed at producing advanced chips for artificial intelligence, robotics, and data centres in space.
According to a public notice released on Wednesday, the facility, named Terafab, will be located in Grimes County, about 70 miles northwest of Houston.
The notice stated that the project’s initial investment would amount to $55bn, with the possibility of total capital investment reaching $119bn if additional phases are completed.
Musk said the facility would be jointly operated by Tesla and SpaceX as part of efforts to meet rising demand for high-performance computing power.
The project description described Terafab as a major step toward strengthening domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity in the United States.
Although Musk has no previous background in semiconductor production, he has argued that existing global chip suppliers may not be able to meet the future computing requirements of Tesla and SpaceX.
According to him, the facility is expected to eventually manufacture chips capable of supporting between 100 and 200 gigawatts of computing power on Earth, while also laying the groundwork for one terawatt of computing capacity in space.
The planned investment highlights the growing importance of semiconductors in artificial intelligence development, autonomous systems, robotics, and aerospace technology.
Local authorities in Grimes County are expected to discuss the project further during a commissioners court meeting scheduled for June 3.
The meeting will consider a proposed property tax abatement request linked to the development of the facility.
If approved, Terafab could become one of the largest semiconductor manufacturing investments in the United States and further expand Texas’ position as a major technology and industrial hub.
