Musk unveils record chip-building plan, Terafab
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Elon Musk's announcement livestreams from Austin. Screenshot: Terafab
Elon Musk took the stage in Austin on Saturday night for what he called a "profoundly important announcement … the most epic chip-building exercise in history, by far." His goal: producing 1 trillion watts (1 terawatt) of compute power per year, most of it deployed in space.
Why it matters: Musk said his Terafab chip-building project — a joint effort of his Tesla, xAI and SpaceX companies — is "the next step towards becoming a galactic civilization" and turning "science fiction to science fact."
Driving the news: Musk said the project will kick off with an advanced technology fab (semiconductor manufacturing facility) in Austin — headquarters of Tesla and home of its Gigafactory. His Neuralink, Boring, and SpaceX companies also have growing Texas operations.
- Musk's ambition is to manufacture his own chips for AI, humanoid robots and space data centers.
- Speaking with dramatic lighting at a historic power plant in downtown Austin, Musk said his "existing supply chain" is "much less than we would like. And so we either build the Terafab, or we don't have the chips."
Between the lines: Musk "showed an animation of how SpaceX could potentially launch satellites from the surface of the moon," Bloomberg notes, "and reiterated his vision for a future filled with 'amazing abundance' — something he has been touting in recent months."
- For instance, he said anyone who wants to will be able to fly to Saturn.
