Tesla to Build In-House Chip Fab TeraFab

[Technology Strategy] Tesla has officially announced plans to construct its own semiconductor fabrication facility, TeraFab, to meet the surging chip demand from its AI and robotics businesses.

Core Initiative: TeraFab Enables End-to-End In-House Chip Manufacturing

Tesla plans to build the TeraFab facility in the United States, integrating logic chips, memory chips, and packaging processes. Elon Musk emphasized that current suppliers such as TSMC and Samsung cannot fulfill Tesla’s future production capacity requirements, and escalating geopolitical risks are exacerbating supply chain vulnerabilities.

Key Metrics: Initial Monthly Output of 100,000 Wafers, Long-Term Target of 1 Million

This production scale represents approximately 70% of TSMC’s current monthly capacity (1.42 million wafers). The facility will employ full-wafer isolation technology, breaking through the limitations of traditional ISO cleanrooms and enhancing manufacturing flexibility.

Strategic Foundation: Securing Chip Supply for Optimus Robots and FSD

With the discontinuation of the Model S/X, the original production lines will be repurposed to mass-produce the third-generation Optimus robots by the end of 2026, targeting an annual output of one million units—making chips a critical bottleneck.