SpaceX is set to establish a semiconductor manufacturing facility in Grimes County, with the state estimating the first phase to exceed $16.8 billion and create approximately 3,000 jobs. The announcement was made by Governor Greg Abbott and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
The planned facility, named Terafab, will cover 100 million square feet and will integrate chip design, logic, memory, and advanced packaging under one roof. The chips produced will be used for Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots, Cybercab driverless vehicles, and processors for SpaceX's satellite-based data centers.
The state has committed a $30 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund, and the project also qualifies for the Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation program. Both school districts in Grimes County have approved tax incentive agreements related to the project.
However, a discrepancy has arisen regarding the investment figures. While the state and SpaceX have cited phase one as over $16.8 billion, a SpaceX filing from May indicated an initial investment of $55 billion, potentially increasing to $119 billion. The two figures may refer to different stages of the project, but no clarification has been provided by either party.
No construction timeline has been disclosed for the facility.
