TSMC's Wei: Any Fab in Musk's Terafab Must Be Run by TSMC
TL;DR
- TSMC has already dispatched teams to Texas for on-site evaluation, making these talks operationally active rather than exploratory.
- TSMC raised 2026 capex to $60-64B from a prior $52-56B estimate, giving it financial resources and negotiating weight in the Terafab discussions.
- Musk's October 7 X post stated 'No, we will build and run the fab. Let there be ZERO doubt about that,' making the impasse explicit before Wei's earnings-call response.
On its Q3 earnings call on October 15, TSMC chairman and CEO C.C. Wei told analysts the Taiwanese chipmaker is open to collaborating on Elon Musk's Terafab project in Texas, but drew a line on operations: 'the fab has got to be run by TSMC.' Bloomberg reported that no agreement has been reached.
'We are still in discussion, let me say that,' Wei said, framing Terafab's backers as a prospective customer.
The remarks respond to a Musk post on X on October 7, in which Musk said SpaceX would 'build and run the fab' and offered TSMC the option to 'sublease part of the Terafab if they want, but nothing more than that.' Terafab's first phase, a roughly $16.8 billion plant in Grimes County, Texas, broke ground in August 2026 on the site of the former Gibbons Creek coal plant and is backed by Tesla, SpaceX and xAI, targeting about one terawatt of annual AI computing capacity. Intel joined as a development partner in April 2026.
TNW noted that TSMC's position mirrors its joint-venture template in Japan and Germany, where TSMC operates the plants its partners co-fund.
TSMC separately reported Q3 revenue of $46.7 billion, up 41% year-over-year, and guided Q4 to between $52.3 billion and $54.3 billion. The story extends a dense run of TSMC coverage on our TSMC news page this quarter.
What others are reporting
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Fortune Read →
Adds that TSMC sent evaluation teams to Texas and raised 2026 capex to $60-64B, with Q3 net profit up 69% YoY providing context for the company's negotiating position.
"We sent the teams to Texas to do all the evaluation," Wei said, adding that any Texas plant "must be run by TSMC."
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The Next Web Read →
Wei explicitly named TSMC's Japan and Germany joint ventures as the governing precedent, establishing operational control as a structural requirement with prior contractual history behind it.
"We are still in discussion. But the fab got to be run by TSMC."
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TrendForce Read →
Semiconductor-specialist framing positions TSMC's Texas evaluation as part of a broader US manufacturing strategy beyond Arizona, not solely a response to Terafab outreach.
"Any fab involving TSMC would have to be operated by the company itself."
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Taiwan News Read →
Frames the earnings call statement as a direct pushback, with context on TSMC's wider US expansion ambitions and the margin implications a Texas site would carry.
"But the fab has got to be run by TSMC."
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Crypto Briefing Read →
Highlights Intel's April 2026 14A-process commitment as a live Terafab alternative, framing Intel as the fallback manufacturer if TSMC walks away from the impasse.
"Any chip fabrication facility involved would need to be operated by TSMC itself."
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Teslarati Read →
Provides Musk's definitive X post rejecting TSMC operational control, plus $16.8B phase-one and $119B total scale figures framing the financial stakes of the dispute.
"No, we will build and run the fab. Let there be ZERO doubt about that."
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The Epoch Times Read →
Captures Wei's full conditional phrasing, open to Terafab involvement but only under TSMC operational terms, alongside the broader Texas site evaluation context.
"It's not either way, it would be possible, but the fab has to be run by TSMC."
Originally reported by bloomberg.com
Read the original article →Original headline: TSMC CEO C.C. Wei Tells Analysts TSMC Must Operate Any Fab in Musk's Terafab Project