SpaceX is set to establish a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Grimes County, with an initial investment exceeding $16.8 billion and the potential to create around 3,000 jobs. This project, named Terafab, was announced by Governor Greg Abbott and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
The planned facility will cover 100 million square feet, making it one of the largest manufacturing buildings globally. It will integrate chip design, logic, memory, and advanced packaging under one roof, a departure from the current industry model that relies on multiple suppliers across different locations. The chips produced will be utilized in Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots, Cybercab driverless vehicles, and SpaceX's satellite-based data centers.
The state has provided a $30 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund, and both Grimes County school districts have endorsed the project. Iola Independent School District has signed an agreement with TeraFab AI, LLC, while Anderson-Shiro ISD’s superintendent described the project as a pivotal moment for the district.
Despite the announced investment figure, a SpaceX filing from May suggested an initial investment of $55 billion, potentially rising to $119 billion in later phases. The discrepancy in numbers has not been clarified by either the state or SpaceX. No construction timeline for the project has been released yet.
