Intel to keep working on Elon Musk's Terafab chip venture Quartz · Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Cris Tolomia Wed, October 7, 2026 at 8:01 AM EDT 2 min read INTC -0.45% TSM -1.84% TSLA -0.40% Explore stocks on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
According to Bloomberg, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has indicated that the chipmaker plans to remain a partner in Terafab, Elon Musk's planned chip manufacturing complex in Texas.
Tan spoke to reporters on Wednesday before appearing at a Tokyo ceremony celebrating half a century of Intel's presence in Japan. Musk's confirmation earlier this week that he was in early-stage discussions with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. about a potential role in Terafab had weighed on Intel stock, given that Intel had been the first company to back the venture when it pledged its support in April.
Also on Wednesday, Musk sought to clarify the scope of any TSMC involvement. "We will build and run the fab," Musk wrote in a post responding to a Tesla commentator. "Let there be ZERO doubt about that. Maybe TSMC subleases part of the Terafab if they want, but nothing more than that," according to Benzinga. Intel stock rose 2.18% in Wednesday premarket trading to $114.95.
Terafab is a joint venture between SpaceX and Tesla to manufacture chips at a site in Grimes County, Texas. When Intel first announced its involvement in the project in April, Intel said at the time that its expertise spanning chip design, fabrication, and advanced packaging would help the venture hit its target of generating one terawatt of annual computing capacity for AI and robotics applications. Tesla and SpaceX launched the project with an initial investment of $16.8 billion and a planned workforce of at least 3,000 people. Chips produced there are intended for use in Tesla's Optimus robots and Cybercabs, as well as space-based data centers that SpaceX is developing.
Total spending across all phases of the project could reach as much as $119 billion. SpaceX has proposed spending $55 billion to begin construction of the facility, according to a public notice posted on Grimes County's website. During Tesla's most recent quarterly earnings call, Musk indicated that Intel's 14A process would serve as the manufacturing backbone for chip production at Terafab.
TSMC's potential entry into the project came as the Taiwanese chipmaker has been weighing a broader expansion of its U.S. footprint, separate from the $265 billion it has already committed to an Arizona campus. Planning for a Texas facility remains in early phases, and TSMC has declined to comment on the matter.
