SpaceX has announced plans for a semiconductor manufacturing facility in Grimes County, with an initial investment estimated at over $16.8 billion and the creation of 3,000 jobs. This project, named Terafab, was unveiled by Governor Greg Abbott and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
The plant will span 100 million square feet and will integrate chip design, logic, memory, and advanced packaging in one location. The chips produced will be utilized in Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots, Cybercab driverless vehicles, and SpaceX's satellite-based data centers.
The Texas government has committed $30 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund to support the project, which also qualifies for the Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation program. Both Iola Independent School District and Anderson-Shiro Independent School District have approved agreements related to the incentives.
Iola ISD Superintendent Jeff Dyer stated that the tax incentives were in the district's best interest, while Anderson-Shiro ISD Superintendent Sarah Borowicz described the moment as significant for their district.
While the state and SpaceX have indicated a $16.8 billion investment for phase one, a SpaceX filing suggested an initial investment of $55 billion, raising questions about the differences in the figures. No timeline for construction has been provided.