Breaking Ground on Terafab

A groundbreaking is not a wafer

On 6 August 2026 SpaceX printed the site. Terafab will be built in Grimes County, Texas. Earlier that year SpaceX and Tesla announced it as the most epic chip-building effort in the world — logic, memory, and advanced packaging under one roof. In April Tesla broke ground on a research fab on the North Campus of Giga Texas, the precursor. Today, the company said, the full facility is Grimes County. Combined SpaceX and Tesla demand is expected in excess of 1 terawatt of compute, significantly larger than current global supply. They are deeply appreciative of current suppliers and want those suppliers to expand. The gulf is still why Terafab exists. This desk will keep the labels on. Expected demand is not produced compute. A planned roof is not a die. A groundbreaking is not a wafer.

One hundred million square feet, planned

The factory is designed to build new compute at unprecedented scale and speed. A vertically integrated plant with more than 100 million square feet of manufacturing space is planned. Manufacturing, packaging, and testing of advanced logic and memory live in one location so improvements can recurse faster. Two chip jobs are named on the page. Edge computing and inference for Tesla Optimus and self-driving Cybercabs. High-power chips designed for SpaceX space-based data centers. terafab.ai prints the same split in hardware names: AI5 for FSD and Optimus, AI6 for Optimus, D3 for space. It also prints 1 billion Optimus robots, 10 million tons of mass per year launched, and more than 1 TW of solar power needed. Those are site claims. They are not a flown constellation and they are not a closed ISRU loop. This desk will not let a landing page grow a city.

• Site — Grimes County, Texas (6 Aug 2026)
• Precursor — research fab, Giga Texas North Campus, April 2026
• Roof — logic, memory, advanced packaging together
• Floorplate — more than 100 million sq ft, planned
• Demand — SpaceX + Tesla expected >1 TW, above current global supply
• Products — edge/inference for Optimus and Cybercab; high-power chips for orbital data centers
• terafab.ai — AI5, AI6, D3; 1 billion Optimus; 10 million t/year; 1 TW+ solar

Sixteen point eight billion is a first phase

The initial phase is estimated at about $16.8 billion in capital from SpaceX and Tesla. Future phases could go much higher. The facility will employ at least 3,000 people, many from Grimes and nearby Brazos County. At other Texas sites, 60 to 80 percent of new hires are local. SpaceX’s Texas footprint, the update said, has already generated more than 56,000 direct and indirect jobs, over $28 billion in estimated economic impact since 2024, and hundreds of millions in indirect tax revenue since 2024. The site commits to Gibbons Creek Reservoir water for industrial operations rather than local groundwater, on-site wastewater treatment, reuse, and hazardous-materials rules. None of that is a chip. It is why a county can host a fab. A first-phase check is not a terawatt on orbit.

• Initial capital — ~$16.8 billion, SpaceX and Tesla, estimated
• Jobs — at least 3,000; 60–80% local at other Texas sites
• Texas footprint — >56,000 jobs; >$28 billion impact since 2024
• Water — Gibbons Creek Reservoir, not local groundwater

The desk load

The existing TeraFab notes on this desk are short X pieces. They already said stainless steel makes return impossible until silicon, ISRU, and cadence close as one machine, and that landing the booster is how a server leaves Earth. Those loads have not moved. Ice still sits under meters of dust. Return still wants about 2,400 tonnes of methane and oxygen cooked on the surface. Power still wants about 3.6 megawatts of baseload. This paper is the first-party site. Grimes County. More than 100 million square feet, planned. More than a terawatt of demand. $16.8 billion to start. Edge silicon for a biped. High-power silicon for an orbital rack. The V3 update already named orbital data centers as a core function the third generation is designed to unlock. Designed to unlock is not unlocked. A fab that has broken ground is how those satellites get a die. It is not a die. The next paper is the launch math.

Selected primary sources

SpaceX Updates, “Breaking Ground on Terafab in Texas,” 6 August 2026, https://www.spacex.com/updates/terafab. Terafab, https://terafab.ai. SpaceX Updates, “Introducing Starship V3,” 12 May 2026, https://www.spacex.com/updates/starship-v3. The 6 August 2026 desk is the source for Grimes County, the Giga Texas North Campus precursor, logic-memory-packaging under one roof, more than 100 million square feet planned, expected demand in excess of 1 TW, Optimus/Cybercab edge chips and high-power chips for space-based data centers, ~$16.8 billion initial capital, at least 3,000 jobs, the Texas jobs and impact figures since 2024, and Gibbons Creek Reservoir water. terafab.ai is the source for AI5, AI6, D3, 1 billion Optimus, 10 million tons per year, and 1 TW+ solar. SpaceX has not published a wafer-start rate or a yielded terawatt on this page. This desk will not borrow one.