SpaceX has announced plans to construct a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Grimes County, with an investment exceeding $16.8 billion and the potential to create 3,000 jobs. The project, named Terafab, was revealed by Governor Greg Abbott and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk this month.
The facility is designed to cover 100 million square feet, positioning it among the largest manufacturing buildings globally. Its vertically integrated design will allow for chip design, logic, memory, and advanced packaging to occur under one roof, improving efficiency compared to the current industry model.
The chips produced at this plant are intended for Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots, Cybercab driverless vehicles, and processors for SpaceX's satellite-based data centers. The state has committed a $30 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund to support the project, which also qualifies for tax incentives under the Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation program.
While the state and SpaceX have stated the initial investment is over $16.8 billion, a filing by SpaceX in May suggested a potential investment of up to $119 billion. This discrepancy highlights the complexity of defining project phases and investment counts. No construction timeline has been provided for the Terafab facility.
