Chips · Oct 21, 2026, 15:42
Musk Says ASML Is Speeding Tools to Terafab, Eyes 2028 Volume Output
Elon Musk said suppliers led by ASML are expediting equipment shipments to the Tesla-SpaceX Terafab chip plant in Texas, which targets volume output in Q3-Q4 2028 on a timeline he called highly aspirational.
Key facts from Musk's October 20 remarks, as reported by Tom's Hardware.
Illustration (AI-generated)
Elon Musk said on October 20 that ASML and other critical semiconductor equipment suppliers have expedited shipments for Terafab, the chip fab project run jointly by Tesla and SpaceX, according to Tom's Hardware. He made the remark during a live broadcast of SpaceX's Q3 2026 earnings call on X.
Terafab's first test chip is targeted about a year before the first reported EUV tool, with volume output in late 2028.
Illustration (AI-generated)
Musk said the primary facility at Gibbons Creek, Texas, is targeting volume chip production in the third or fourth quarter of 2028. He described the dates as very aggressive and "highly aspirational," with "big error bars." SpaceX plans to make its first experimental test chip at a research fab in Austin, Texas, around Q2 2027, Tom's Hardware reported.
Tool supply is the gating item. Tom's Hardware describes ASML as the sole commercial supplier of the EUV lithography systems needed for leading-edge volume production, and notes that capacity remains tight across the semiconductor supply chain. Terafab is also lining up Applied Materials, Lam Research, KLA and Tokyo Electron for processing and metrology tools, plus about 10 South Korean equipment makers. Intel joined the venture in April 2026, and Terafab is expected to use EUV tools with Intel's 14A process.