Elon Musk's New Ambition: Preparing Terafab for AI Chip Production

CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, Elon Musk, has revealed plans to build two advanced chip factories in Austin, Texas, United States. These facilities will support chip needs for electric vehicles, humanoid robots, and artificial intelligence (AI) data centres in space. This plan is linked to Elon Musk’s Terafab project, a manufacturing complex for AI-based chips to be built in Texas. Quoted from Reuters on Sunday (23/3/2026), the Terafab AI project will consist of two fabs, each producing only one type of chip. Previously, Musk stated that Tesla needs to build its own AI chip factory. However, SpaceX’s involvement in this project has only now been disclosed. The Terafab factory location is centred in Austin, which has become one of the new technology hubs in the United States. SpaceX itself is preparing to go public, with an estimated valuation of around 1.75 trillion US dollars or approximately Rp 29,746 trillion (assuming an exchange rate of Rp 16,998 per US dollar), following a merger with Musk’s social media and AI company, xAI. He assessed that the current global chip production capacity can only meet a small portion of his companies’ future needs. Nevertheless, Elon Musk has not disclosed the exact schedule for realising the project. He is known for frequently announcing ambitious projects, though some of them experience delays or are not realised. Musk also expressed appreciation to current chip suppliers, such as Samsung, TSMC, and Micron. However, he believes that demand from his companies will ultimately exceed the total global chip production. This figure is far larger than the current total capacity in the United States, which is around half a terawatt. He explained that one chip will be used for Tesla vehicles and the Optimus humanoid robot, while the other chip is specifically designed for AI satellites in space. “We need high-power chips designed for more extreme space environments,” Musk said. He added that the chips must be able to operate at higher temperatures.