Musk says SpaceX-Tesla chip venture Terafab aims for mass production in Q3 2028

Elon Musk said on a SpaceX conference call that Terafab, a chip-making venture set up jointly by SpaceX and Tesla, plans to reach mass production in the third quarter of 2028. IT Home said the call was on Tuesday local time, and Jiemian's first report gave the date as October 20 local time. Later reports from 36Kr and Jiemian, dated October 21, described the call as SpaceX's third-quarter earnings call. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]

Musk said he had set a large margin of error on the schedule because the company is not sure it can be met, and he called it very aggressive. According to 36Kr and IT Home, the project aims to supply 1 terawatt of computing power a year for AI and robotics. IT Home said a leading-edge logic chip plant in the US usually takes three years or more to build, and that many timelines Musk set in the past were not met by his companies. It quoted Musk as saying mass production in the third or fourth quarter of 2028 is at least a possible outcome, and that chipmaking cycles are long and the schedule is close to absurdly fast. [ 1 , 2 ]

Musk said the planned integrated site in Texas would make, package and test advanced logic and memory chips in the same campus, IT Home reported. CLS, Jiemian and IT Home said Terafab's internal goal is to produce a first test chip using SRAM circuits at its R&D base in Austin around May or June next year, and to have it working. IT Home added that chipmakers usually build SRAM circuits first to refine their processes. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]

An equipment-focused question also came up on the call. A sell-side analyst asked whether SpaceX had ordered extreme ultraviolet lithography tools from ASML, and Musk did not answer directly, IT Home reported. He said the timeline is very challenging and thanked ASML and all other suppliers for speeding up equipment deliveries. 36Kr and Jiemian reported separately that ASML and other key equipment suppliers have sped up deliveries to Terafab and that Musk called the schedule very tight. IT Home said a major difficulty for Terafab is buying enough precision equipment from ASML or US suppliers such as Applied Materials and KLA. [ 2 , 5 , 6 ]

IT Home noted that Intel announced in April that it would join the Terafab project and published a photo of its chief executive, Lip-Bu Tan (陈立武), shaking hands with Musk; the two sides have not disclosed how the cooperation will work. It also reported that Musk said earlier this month the company had discussed potential cooperation with TSMC, but later said Terafab will run the plant itself. On October 22, CLS reported that Musk expects a test chip by June next year and mass production by the third quarter of 2028. [ 2 , 7 ]