Elon Musk stated that work on the Terafab project, which he announced in March in Austin, Texas, USA, is progressing rapidly. According to Musk's statement, machine commissioning at the facility will begin in the first half of 2027. If everything goes as planned, the first test chip will be produced in May or June.
Unusual Production Schedule for Terafab
Musk stated that the primary goal of the initial production phase is to confirm that the facility can produce any chip. He added that they expect real production to begin towards the end of 2028. The factory aims to achieve high-volume production in the third quarter of 2028.
This timeline is quite ambitious compared to semiconductor industry standards. The construction of chip factories, installation of necessary equipment, and stabilization of production processes typically take years. Building a facility of this scale in the US also presents additional challenges compared to regions with established semiconductor manufacturing ecosystems like Taiwan. However, Musk anticipates a faster timeline for Terafab.
Terafab's Cost Could Exceed $100 Billion
Terafab is being carried out as a joint project between Musk's companies, Tesla and SpaceX. Musk, who also stated that he is considering the possibility of merging the two companies, noted that a definitive agreement on how the factory's costs will be shared has not yet been reached.
According to information provided by Musk, the capital expenditure required for the project until early 2028 will amount to tens of billions of dollars, even just for production equipment. In the long term, the total expenditure is stated to potentially exceed $100 billion.
Musk said that Terafab becoming operational could be extremely important, even necessary, for scaling up the production of Tesla's humanoid robot, Optimus. Tesla announced that it has started high-volume production of the robots at its factory in Fremont, California.
Despite this, it is stated that reaching the company's goal of producing approximately 20,000 robots per week will take at least a year, possibly a bit longer. In the Optimus project, which has fallen behind Musk's previously announced production schedule, electromechanical design issues, particularly concerning the robots' hands, are prominent.
Musk expects these issues to be resolved by the end of 2027. Tesla plans to begin Optimus deliveries during this period. The first customers are expected to be industrial companies that can use the robots for dangerous and repetitive tasks. The focus is particularly on tasks that people do not want to do and that need to be performed around the clock.
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