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Terafab Tracker
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Terafab is a planned chip-making complex led by SpaceX with Tesla and xAI, meant to combine logic, memory and advanced packaging. Texas confirmed the site in Grimes County, near Gibbons Creek Reservoir east of College Station, on Aug. 6, 2026. Ground was broken in August; SpaceX says limited operations could start toward the end of 2027. A separate Tesla research fab is being built at Giga Texas.
Honest note: Information on Terafab is still thin. SpaceX has sued to keep some project records private, no general contractor or chip process has been publicly confirmed, and Tesla's quarterly updates describe the effort only in general terms. Figures below come from government releases, public filings and reporting; projections are labeled as such.
CURRENT STAGE Site work under way (Phase 1)
Phase 1 capital investment (exact)
Texas Governor's office (Aug. 6, 2026) gives $16.8B only as a minimum. County records cited by ENR (Oct. 8, 2026) contemplate a maximum of $119B across four phases (projection).Sources: Office of the Texas Governor, Aug. 6, 2026ENR, Oct. 8, 2026
jobs promised in Phase 1
Per the Governor's office.planned facility size
Planned, not built.Sources: Office of the Texas Governor, Aug. 6, 2026KBTX, Aug. 6, 2026
limited operations target (SpaceX)
State filings project commercial operations in 2028.What's confirmed about the site
| Item | Detail | Status | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Grimes County, TX, near Gibbons Creek Reservoir, east of College Station | Confirmed | Sources: Office of the Texas Governor, Aug. 6, 2026ENR, Oct. 8, 2026 |
| County tax abatement | Approved June 3, 2026: maximum term of 10 years at 100%; SpaceX pays $10M upfront and $20M a year in lieu of taxes (2027-2036); requires a $5B minimum investment and 1,800 jobs minimum | Confirmed | Sources: ENR, Oct. 8, 2026 |
| State incentives | $30M Texas Enterprise Fund grant; qualified JETI project | Confirmed | |
| Reinvestment zone | Exact acreage not disclosed; source gives 22,000 acres as a lower bound (not all to be developed) | Confirmed | Sources: ENR, Oct. 8, 2026 |
| Power and water | Onsite power plants (gas turbines, battery storage) and Gibbons Creek Reservoir surface water, per county agreements | Confirmed | Sources: ENR, Oct. 8, 2026 |
| Records dispute | SpaceX sued the Texas AG and Grimes County on Sept. 8, 2026 to block release of some project records | Confirmed | Sources: ENR, Oct. 8, 2026 |
Plans and projections (not yet achieved)
| Item | Detail | Status | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Construction 2026-28; commercial operations expected 2028 (state filings); limited operations late 2027 (SpaceX) | Confirmed | |
| First EUV scanner (reported) | Mid-2027 delivery of an ASML EUV tool (Tim Culpan via Tom's Hardware, Oct. 14, 2026); SemiAnalysis projects the research fab shell finishes late 2027, so the tool may sit idle. Not confirmed by Tesla, SpaceX or ASML | Reported / unconfirmed | Sources: Tom's Hardware, Oct. 14, 2026 |
| Phase 1 outside forecast (SemiAnalysis) | Projection: 20 months to build, 17 to equip, 6 to ramp; operations late 2029, volume mid-2030. Conflicts with SpaceX's late-2027 limited-operations target and the 2028 commercial-operations date in state filings | Reported / unconfirmed | Sources: Tom's Hardware, Oct. 14, 2026 |
| Phases 2-4 | Phases in 2029-2031, 2032-2034 and 2035-2036; exact per-phase amounts not disclosed (county records give only estimates); each contingent on a decision to proceed | Confirmed | Sources: ENR, Oct. 8, 2026 |
| Long-term goal | Musk's stated aim: chips for 1 terawatt of compute a year | Confirmed | |
| Process technology | Filings mention sub-2nm-class processes through partners; no process or partner capacity has been confirmed | Reported / unconfirmed | Sources: ENR, Oct. 8, 2026 |
| Giga Texas research fab iteration goal | Musk: a target of 10 chip designs made and tested per year in one building (fab + test + packaging + masks); aspirational iteration pace he framed as approximate, not mass-production output | Confirmed | Sources: The Edge Malaysia (Bloomberg), Oct. 12, 2026Stocktwits, Oct. 12, 2026 |
Milestones, dated and sourced.
- Confirmed
Musk: Terafab capital 'north of $100 billion' long term
On Tesla's Q3 call, Musk said Terafab needs tens of billions of dollars in capital equipment through early 2028 and probably more than $100 billion long term; the Tesla-SpaceX cost split is undecided, and Tesla has placed most orders for the Austin research fab. Read our story ↗
Sources: TradingKey: Tesla Q3 2026 earnings call transcript, Oct. 21, 2026MarketWatch, Oct. 21, 2026
- Confirmed
Musk gives Terafab test-chip and volume-production targets
On SpaceX's Q3 call, Musk said the internal aim is a first functional test chip in May or June 2027 at the Austin research fab and volume production around Q3 2028 at Gibbons Creek, calling both dates very aggressive. Read our story ↗
Sources: Benzinga: SpaceX Q3 2026 earnings call transcript, Oct. 20, 2026ScanX, Oct. 20, 2026
- Confirmed
TSMC CEO confirms Terafab talks; says any fab 'has got to be run by TSMC'
On TSMC's Q3 call, C.C. Wei said TSMC sent teams to Texas and is discussing whether it can use Terafab's extra capacity; no agreement yet. He said the fab must be run by TSMC, at odds with Musk's Oct. 7 statement that his companies will run it. Read our story ↗
Sources: Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance, Oct. 15, 2026AP via ABC News, Oct. 15, 2026Taiwan News, Oct. 15, 2026
- Reported / unconfirmed
Report: first ASML EUV scanner due mid-2027; SemiAnalysis sees Grimes volume output in mid-2030
Tim Culpan (via Tom's Hardware) reports Terafab's first ASML EUV tool arrives mid-2027, before the Giga Texas research fab shell is done (SemiAnalysis: late 2027). SemiAnalysis projects Grimes phase 1 operations in late 2029 and volume in mid-2030, later than SpaceX's late-2027 limited-operations target. Not confirmed by Tesla, SpaceX or ASML. Read our story ↗
Sources: Tom's Hardware, Oct. 14, 2026Chip Dispatch, Oct. 14, 2026
- Confirmed
Musk sets a '10 designs per year' goal for the Giga Texas research fab
At the X Takeover livestream from Giga Texas (Sat.), Musk said the research fab would keep fabrication, testing, packaging and mask-making in one building so Tesla and SpaceX can make and test 10 chip designs a year (his target, framed as approximate), versus a multi-year cycle per major design today. He framed that as an iteration target, not 10 chips in mass production; some designs won't work out. Read our story ↗
Sources: The Edge Malaysia (Bloomberg), Oct. 12, 2026Stocktwits, Oct. 12, 2026
- Reported / unconfirmed
Musk: his companies will 'build and run the fab'
Musk wrote on X that TSMC might sublease part of Terafab but would not run it. Read our story ↗
Sources: ENR, Oct. 8, 2026
- Reported / unconfirmed
Drone footage shows extensive earthwork
Aerial footage captured Oct. 6 shows large-scale site preparation in Grimes County.
Sources: ENR, Oct. 8, 2026
- Confirmed
Site clearing well along; limited operations eyed for late 2027
Local reporting says ground was broken in August; SpaceX says limited operations could begin toward the end of 2027.
Sources: Spectrum News, Sept. 28, 2026
- Confirmed
SpaceX sues to block release of Terafab records
The suit challenges a July 28 Attorney General ruling that ordered most requested records released.
Sources: ENR, Oct. 8, 2026
- Confirmed
Groundbreaking in Grimes County
Construction started in August, according to local reporting.
Sources: Spectrum News, Sept. 28, 2026
- Confirmed
Texas confirms Grimes County site, $16.8B first phase
Gov. Abbott announced the 100M sq ft plant, 3,000 jobs, a $30M Texas Enterprise Fund grant and JETI status.
Sources: Office of the Texas Governor, Aug. 6, 2026KBTX, Aug. 6, 2026
- Confirmed
Tesla: Austin chip fab construction and equipment procurement progressing
Tesla's Q2 update calls its Austin semiconductor fab 'still in its early stages'.
Sources: Tesla Q2 2026 Update (July 22, 2026)
- Confirmed
Grimes County approves tax abatement
100% county abatement for a maximum of 10 years in exchange for payments in lieu of taxes and minimum investment and job commitments.
Sources: ENR, Oct. 8, 2026
- Confirmed
Tesla shows research fab groundbreaking at Giga Texas
Tesla's Q1 update says the SpaceX partnership 'begins with the Tesla-owned Research Fab' on the Giga Texas campus.
Sources: Tesla Q1 2026 Update (Apr. 22, 2026)
- Confirmed
Intel joins Terafab
Intel said it will help 'design, fabricate, and package' chips for the project; terms weren't disclosed.
Sources: TechCrunch, Apr. 7, 2026
- Confirmed
Musk unveils Terafab in Austin
Announced as a Tesla-SpaceX-xAI project with a cost estimate given only as a $20B floor (exact not disclosed), starting with an advanced technology fab in Austin.
Sources: Engadget, Mar. 22, 2026
Confirmed Tesla filings or posts, regulators, or multiple outlets. Reported / unconfirmed A single outlet, a community tracker, or a claim Tesla hasn't confirmed. Our coverage Tesla News Wire stories in this section, added automatically.
How this tracker works. Every entry links to a source we opened. "Confirmed" means a company filing or post, a government record, or multiple outlets; "reported" means a single outlet, an independent observer or an unconfirmed claim. We don't invent figures. Spot an error or a missing milestone? Tell us. Other trackers: Robotaxi Tracker · Optimus Tracker · FSD Tracker · Giga Texas Tracker.
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