Mikkel Christensen
A short message from Elon Musk has signalled the start of an ambitious semiconductor plan that could reshape Tesla’s chip supply.
A short message from Elon Musk has signalled the start of an ambitious semiconductor plan that could reshape Tesla’s chip supply.
The billionaire says work on a new fabrication project will begin within days, marking the first step in a long-term push toward massive production capacity.
Electronics Weekly reported that Musk revealed the timeline in a brief post on X, writing: ‘Terafab Project launches in 7 days‘.
Small start first
Musk indicated the initial facility will act as a testing ground before any major expansion.
“We make a little fab and see what happens – make our mistakes at a small scale – and then we make a big one,” said Musk at the weekend.
According to Electronics Weekly, the long-term goal is for the plant to produce one million wafers per month by 2030.
Global scale ambition
Such output would place the factory among the largest semiconductor production sites worldwide.
For comparison, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) had capacity of about 1.3 million 12-inch equivalent wafers per month last year. The company expects that to rise to around 1.5 million this year.
Musk has estimated the Terafab project will cost between $20 billion and $25 billion.
Securing chip supply
Tesla currently holds roughly $44 billion in cash, meaning the company has the financial resources to pursue a large manufacturing project.
Speaking at Tesla’s most recent annual general meeting, Musk explained why he believes building chip production capacity could become necessary.
“I can’t see any other way to get to the volume of chips that we’re looking for.”
Electronics Weekly reported that Tesla already works with Samsung on chip manufacturing and that Musk has previously discussed potential cooperation with Intel.
Sources: Electronics Weekly
