❯ Musk says his own companies will build and run the Terafab chip plant, with TSMC subleasing a part at most, as Intel says it will stay involved

"Let there be ZERO doubt"Musk responded on X on October 7 to speculation that TSMC would take over Terafab: “No, we will build and run the fab. Let there be ZERO doubt about that.” He added that TSMC might sublease part of the Terafab if it wants, “but nothing more than that.” According to Automotive World, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan had told Bloomberg hours earlier that Intel would stay on the project.

Three turns in a weekTerafab is Musk’s planned chip manufacturing project in Grimes County, Texas, with $16.8 billion committed to the first phase, a target of 3,000 wafers a month, first silicon by 2029 and Intel’s 14A process. A report on October 2 said TSMC was exploring a role in operations; on October 3 Musk said it was just talks that might lead to something; on October 7 his tone hardened.

Intel's role has changedIn April, Intel committed to design, fabricate and package chips for Terafab, taking operational responsibility. On Musk’s current account, Intel looks more like the supplier of 14A process technology, with the plant run by Musk’s own companies. Tan confirmed only that Intel will stay and did not say how its role is being adjusted. Intel’s foundry business posted a $10.32 billion operating loss in 2025.

The hard part of running it yourselfTSMC CEO C.C. Wei has cautioned that building a fab takes two to three years and ramping capacity another one to two. Musk’s insistence on running it himself means that time and learning cost falls on his own companies, and how much manufacturing work Intel gets out of it becomes less certain.

▮ SIGNALMusk wants the process, not the foundry service, and for an Intel that badly needs outside customers to prove 14A, that is an order at a discount to what it first looked like.