GoKawiilElon Musk hosted Intel executives over the weekend, and on Tuesday the chipmaker announced it’s joining Terafab — a massive AI chip project with factories designed for space. Intel announced on X that it will partner with SpaceX, Tesla and xAI to build two advanced chip factories in Austin, Texas.
Intel is proud to join the Terafab project with @SpaceX, @xAI, and @Tesla to help refactor silicon fab technology.
Our ability to design, fabricate, and package ultra-high-performance chips at scale will help accelerate Terafab’s aim to produce 1 TW/year of compute to power… pic.twitter.com/2vUmXn0YhH — Intel (@intel) April 7, 2026
One factory will produce chips to power Tesla’s cars and humanoid robots. The other is designed specifically for AI data centers in orbit. Intel’s stock jumped 2% on the news and is up 38% so far this year.
SpaceX, which recently merged with xAI, confidentially filed for an IPO last week and plans a market launch later this year. The partnership shows Musk wants to build his own chip manufacturing capacity rather than relying solely on external suppliers. It’s all part of a broader push for control over critical AI infrastructure.