Overview
The Advanced Technology Chip Fab (ATCF) is a Tesla-SpaceX joint-venture research and pilot fab announced by Elon Musk on 21 March 2026 and built at the existing Gigafactory Texas site in Austin. The roughly $3 billion facility is sized for a few thousand wafer starts per month to prove out production processes ahead of the full-scale Terafab production fab in Grimes County, and chips from it are expected to combine logic, memory, and advanced packaging under one roof to supply Tesla vehicles and Robotaxis, Optimus robots, xAI, and planned orbital AI data centres. Musk has said the Terafab project plans to use Intel's 14A process technology. Drone flyovers published in late July 2026 show construction well underway: the main foundation poured and extending southward, GeoPiers being installed, grading on the south end, stockpiled construction materials, and permits filed for the general-contractor trailer complex and temporary Tesla site offices. Key facility details include: The facility is situated at Tesla Rd, Austin, TX 78725, USA. It focuses on Assembly & Packaging, Processors, Logic / Foundry, Memory. This site represents an estimated investment of $3B and a production capacity of Target: a few thousand wafer starts/month (R&D pilot line) wafers per month.
About Terafab
Terafab is a vertically integrated semiconductor megaproject announced by Elon Musk in March 2026, jointly developed by Tesla, SpaceX, and Intel (using Intel's 14A process) to produce AI compute chips for Tesla vehicles/Optimus, SpaceX orbital data centers, and xAI. Tesla operates a smaller 'Advanced Technology Fabrication' R&D pilot line at the existing Gigafactory Texas site in Austin, while SpaceX operates the planned high-volume production fab at Grimes County, TX (Gibbons Creek Reservoir), targeting up to 1 million wafer starts/month at full scale. Initial investment estimated at $55B, with total project scope up to $119B. SpaceX's own SEC IPO prospectus (filed June 2026) describes only 'a general framework for the future development of Terafab' agreed with Tesla so far -- specific projects, timelines, and capital expenditures are still subject to separate, not-yet-finalized negotiations, meaning the exact corporate/ownership structure tying SpaceX, Tesla, and Intel together remains officially undetermined as of this writing.