Overview
- Intel, which announced the partnership Tuesday on X, said it will design, fabricate, and package chips for Terafab as Intel shares rose roughly 2–5% and Tesla slipped about 2%.
- Terafab targets an all‑in‑one chip complex near Tesla’s Austin site that aims for 1 terawatt of compute per year using a 2‑nanometer process and a ramp from 100,000 to 1 million wafer starts per month.
- The project plans two core products: Tesla’s AI5 processor for Full Self‑Driving, robotaxis, and the Optimus robot, and a radiation‑hardened D3 chip for SpaceX’s orbital AI data centers.
- The companies released coordinated posts rather than detailed contracts, and Tom’s Hardware noted there were no press releases or SEC filings laying out the partnership’s terms.
- Musk has cited a pilot cost of $20–25 billion, which Tesla’s CFO said is not included in 2026 capex, while analysts warned of tougher math, with Morgan Stanley flagging $35–45 billion and Bernstein describing far higher totals and later timelines.