SpaceX and Tesla to build a $55 billion semiconductor plant in Texas, producing chips for AI, robotics, and space data centres.
WASHINGTON: Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to invest at least $55 billion to build a semiconductor manufacturing facility in Texas, according to a public notice Wednesday, producing chips for artificial intelligence, robotics and data centers in space.
The world’s richest person has said the facility, dubbed Terafab, would be run jointly by his electric-vehicle firm Tesla and his rocket company SpaceX.
Initial investment would be “$55 billion, with an estimated total capital investment (if additional phases are constructed) of $119 billion”, according to a notice of public hearing in Grimes County, Texas, where the facility will be located, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) northwest of Houston.
Terafab “would represent a transformative investment in domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity”, according to a description of the project in the notice.
Musk, who has no prior experience in semiconductors, has said Terafab is necessary because Tesla and SpaceX’s demand for computing power is expected to far exceed that of global chip suppliers.
Eventually, the project aims to make chips to support 100 to 200 gigawatts of computing power on Earth, and a terawatt in space.
The Grimes County commissioners court was set to meet on June 3 to discuss approving a property tax abatement for the project, according to the notice.
