SpaceX has announced plans to construct a semiconductor manufacturing facility in Grimes County, east of College Station, with an estimated investment exceeding $16.8 billion and the potential to create 3,000 jobs. The project, known as the Terafab, was revealed by Governor Greg Abbott and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk this month.
The facility will span 100 million square feet, making it one of the largest manufacturing buildings globally. Its design will integrate chip design, logic, memory, and advanced packaging, consolidating processes that are typically distributed across various suppliers.
The chips produced will be utilized in Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots, Cybercab driverless vehicles, and processors for SpaceX's satellite-based data centers. Governor Abbott emphasized that the Terafab will significantly enhance chip production in Texas.
The state is providing a $30 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund, and both Grimes County school districts have approved agreements related to the project. However, there is a discrepancy between the $16.8 billion figure stated by the state and a SpaceX filing that proposed an initial investment of $55 billion, potentially rising to $119 billion.
The two figures may refer to different phases of the project.
As the region prepares for the influx of jobs, Texas A&M is developing a Semiconductor Institute at its RELLIS campus to support workforce training, scheduled to open in spring 2028.
