IT Home, October 13: Today, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed his vision for the Terafab chip factory, stating that Tesla and SpaceX plan to manufacture and test approximately 10 chips annually at Terafab’s Giga Texas research facility in Texas, USA, to accelerate development.
Musk emphasized that Tesla and SpaceX are collaborating in the field of chip manufacturing, aiming to pursue high-risk, high-reward projects. However, the goal of releasing 10 chip designs per year is to accelerate the chip development and testing cycle, not to mass-produce 10 different designs annually.
He added that the team could quickly test the chip, manufacture new photomasks, and produce another version without interrupting the iteration cycle. The team tried multiple approaches, most of which initially failed; however, the faster testing pace helped accelerate the R&D process.
He also emphasized that although they do not yet know how to manufacture chips, they will find a way—though achieving these goals may take several years. For mainstream chips, a major design can take up to two years from development to mass production.
Terafab is a chip manufacturing project jointly undertaken by Tesla and SpaceX. Musk noted that Tesla will initially use conventional chip manufacturing equipment, modified to increase capacity, and eventually develop custom equipment around production bottlenecks.
He further explained that the Terafab chip manufacturing facility will integrate manufacturing, testing, packaging, and production within a single building, enabling the team to seamlessly test chip evaluations and produce next-generation chips.
Technical analyst Akash Gupta noted that, according to Musk’s vision, the cost of failure at the Terafab factory will be extremely low—similar to SpaceX’s approach to rocket development, where engine costs are minimal and even explosions are considered inconsequential. Once this positive cycle is established, it will pose a formidable challenge to competitors in the chip industry, as Terafab will enjoy significant advantages in testing speed and cost efficiency.