Can Elon Musk’s $119 Billion Terafab Chip Plant Pay Off Without Outside Customers?

Oct. 30, 2026, Elon Musk posted on X about progress at Terafab, the Texas chip complex Tesla and SpaceX are building; a Korean supplier said early-morning U.S. inquiries receive replies within 30 to 60 minutes because engineers can make decisions themselves. Tax filings with two school districts estimate the project at up to $119 billion across four phases, targeting 1 million wafers, the silicon discs chips are cut from, a month within a decade with no outside customers to share the cost. Intel became a technology partner in the spring, and Musk acknowledged in October that he does not know how to make chips. SpaceX, which acquired xAI in February, listed in a $75 billion IPO in June.