Teams associated with Elon Musk's Terafab initiative have contacted several top suppliers of chipmaking equipment to request pricing and delivery timelines, according to people familiar with the matter.
Employees at the joint venture between Tesla Inc and SpaceX reached out to major vendors including Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron and Lam Research to solicit quotes, focusing on both cost and timing for the specialized machinery that underpins modern semiconductor fabrication.
The Terafab venture was unveiled by Musk as a vertically integrated facility intended to bring design, fabrication, lithography, masking and packaging together under one roof. The stated ambition is to support Tesla, SpaceX and xAI by producing advanced AI chips in-house.
Project proponents have described a very large-scale output target for the facility, with a production aim of 1 terawatt of computing power per year. That intended capacity is presented as substantially larger than the current combined output of most global chipmakers.
Last week, Intel confirmed it would join the project.
Requests for price and delivery information from the equipment suppliers are consistent with early-stage procurement activity as the Terafab team evaluates options for sourcing tools designed for advanced node and packaging processes. The inquiries covered both how much vendors would charge and how soon they could supply the necessary systems.
The stated objective for Terafab is to produce cutting-edge AI chips to support Musk’s broader aims in artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous driving. The initiative centers on achieving a high degree of internal self-sufficiency in chip production across multiple production stages.
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Note: The article presents reported outreach and project goals as described by those familiar with the venture; it does not provide independent verification of supplier responses, precise contract terms, or a timeline for when production would begin.