# Tesla and SpaceX Outline Two Texas Sites for Terafab Chip Project By Simon Yoon Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/technology/51884 Published: 2026-11-08T23:00:41.000Z Updated: 2026-11-08T23:00:41.000Z Section: Technology > Construction began on an Austin research fab in April 2026. A Grimes County production complex is planned with an initial $16.8 billion investment. Tesla and SpaceX are structuring Terafab as a two-site Texas chip operation, pairing an Austin research fab with a planned Grimes County production complex aimed at expanding AI chip capacity for their businesses. Construction began in April 2026 on the research facility at Tesla’s Giga Texas campus. The fab has an estimated cost of $3 billion and is designed for rapid testing of chip designs before production. The larger production site is planned for Grimes County, with an initial investment of $16.8 billion. The proposed complex would include more than 100 million square feet of operational space and is projected to create at least 3,000 jobs. Terafab aims to supply chips for Tesla vehicles, Optimus robots and Cybercabs. SpaceX’s planned space-based data centers are expected to require AI hardware. Terafab’s long-term target is one terawatt of annual AI computing capacity. Intel joined the project as a foundry partner on April 7, 2026, with the partnership focused on Intel’s 14A process node. A foundry manufactures chips designed by other companies. Tesla and SpaceX have also outlined a plan to [build and operate the Texas chip complex themselves](). ## Links in this article - [build and operate the Texas chip complex themselves](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/technology/27283)