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TSMC Weighs Terafab Partnership as Musk Confirms Talks

By Drooid · Oct 15, 2026, 6:21 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

TSMC Evaluates Terafab

TSMC is evaluating a partnership with Elon Musk’s Texas-based Terafab project.
TSMC sent evaluation teams to Texas while considering U.S. capacity expansion beyond Arizona.
CEO C.C. Wei said fab must be operated by TSMC, while Musk said his firms will build and run it.
TSMC posted a record Q3 net profit of 763.1 billion NTD and set a 2026 capital budget of $60-$64 billion.

Summary

Intel Shares Slip

Intel shares slipped roughly 4% premarket after Elon Musk confirmed Terafab’s talks with TSMC.
The stock hovered near $94–$95 in early trading, marking a gap down from the prior close.
Intel’s price fell from the mid-$120s to around $100, erasing earlier gains.
Operating cash flow reached $7.01 B last quarter while free cash flow was $4.45 B.
Analysts noted a price-to-sales multiple near 9.7, indicating strong growth expectations.

History

Historical Context

In 1995 Intel invested $5 billion in Arizona’s Fab 12, the first major U.S. fab expansion since the 1980s, hiring roughly 1,200 engineers. The public-private approach anticipated TSMC’s $165 billion Arizona gigafab, now a six-fab complex delivering 4 nm chips in 2025 with $6.6 billion CHIPS Act aid. The same incentive model drives Elon Musk’s 2026 Texas Terafab plan.

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TSMC Evaluates Terafab

TSMC is evaluating a partnership with Elon Musk’s Texas-based Terafab project.
TSMC sent evaluation teams to Texas while considering U.S. capacity expansion beyond Arizona.
CEO C.C. Wei said fab must be operated by TSMC, while Musk said his firms will build and run it.
TSMC posted a record Q3 net profit of 763.1 billion NTD and set a 2026 capital budget of $60-$64 billion.

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