On Nov. 2, Benzinga reported that DigiTimes, citing supply-chain sources, said talks between Elon Musk’s companies and TSMC could resume over Terafab. The report said TSMC might take a larger role in building and operating the proposed Texas chipmaking project, while ownership and investment terms remained under discussion.
The operating role is the central sticking point
Musk had previously said Tesla and SpaceX would build and run the fab, with TSMC at most subleasing part of the site. On Oct. 15, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei said discussions were continuing and that TSMC would have to operate any fab it joined, according to a report on his remarks.
Those positions assign day-to-day control to different parties. The reported reopening of talks puts that question back on the table, but does not resolve it. NeoTeo previously covered the preliminary Musk-TSMC talks.
TSMC teams reportedly assessed Texas sites
A separate Oct. 18 account by Barchart said TSMC had sent teams to evaluate Texas sites and that Wei described Terafab as a possible opportunity. That points to reported site assessment alongside the discussions, while the latest account places construction and operations at the center of a possible expanded TSMC role.
TaiwanPlus News had earlier outlined two possible structures: TSMC could own and operate the plant while SpaceX invests and buys chips, or SpaceX could hold a majority stake. These alternatives show how ownership and operating responsibility might be divided, but neither is presented as a settled arrangement.
Chip targets and Intel’s earlier connection
Benzinga reported Musk’s target of a test chip around May or June 2027 at a research fab in Austin, Texas. Musk described volume production in the third or fourth quarter of 2028 as an aspiration.
Intel had previously been linked to Terafab through a reported plan to use its 14A process. The renewed-talks account did not specify Intel’s role if TSMC took on a larger part.
