TSMC Says It Must Operate Any Fab Tied to Musk's Terafab

TSMC CEO C.C. Wei said the company must operate any fab involved in Terafab, while Elon Musk has described his affiliates as the project's operators, putting control of production at the center of their ongoing talks.

During an earnings call on Oct. 15, Wei said discussions with Musk were continuing. Neither side has disclosed specific terms for a potential arrangement.

Terafab is a planned AI chip complex in Texas. Musk previously described Tesla and SpaceX as the project's builders and operators. He has also said TSMC could at most lease production capacity and would not run production.

TSMC also said it does not allow customers to sublease capacity. Its position that it would need to operate a participating fab differs from Musk's description of who would run Terafab.