Nvidia Corp.‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said Elon Musk may be uniquely positioned to pull off Terafab, the semiconductor-manufacturing project planned by Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX), while acknowledging the technical depth required to fabricate leading-edge chips.
Huang Backs Musk’s Audacious Terafab Ambition
"If anybody could do it, he can," Huang said Monday at the All-In Summit. Huang said the two of them were on a flight together to a country, adding that “Elon likes to talk about these things and so we spent a lot of time talking about it.”
Huang stopped short of saying whether Nvidia would eventually fabricate its chips at Terafab. "We know a lot about process technology because we’re pushing the limits of everything," he said, pointing to Nvidia’s scale and systems expertise.
Reverting to discuss Musk, the Nvidia chief said, “You can’t discourage Elon from doing it,” adding that it was Musk’s “superpower" and that “Once he decides to do something, it’s hard to stop him.”
Terafab Targets Unprecedented Scale In Chipmaking
Musk unveiled Terafab in March, and SpaceX’s SEC filings state that it is developing the initiative with Tesla, while Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) joined in April. The long-term goal is one terawatt of compute hardware annually, with lithography-mask design, logic and memory fabrication, and advanced packaging vertically integrated under one program.
SpaceX says it is developing Terafab to ease potential chip shortages and produce hardware optimized for Tesla vehicles and Optimus robots, alongside chips designed for orbital AI infrastructure. Musk has said the facility could span roughly 100 million square feet, about 10 times the size of Tesla’s gigafactory in Texas.
The company cautions, however, that specific timelines, milestones, and capital expenditures remain undetermined and that neither Tesla nor Intel is obligated to remain involved. SpaceX in its SEC filing also warns Terafab may ultimately fail to meet its chip needs.
Huang And Musk Deepen Their AI Partnership
Huang’s confidence follows earlier praise for Musk’s execution. Nvidia said xAI and Nvidia built the 100,000-GPU Colossus supercomputer in Memphis in 122 days, including just 19 days from the first rack arriving to the start of training. Huang earlier on a podcast aired in October 2024, called the accomplishment "superhuman" and described Musk as "singular in his understanding of engineering.”
The admiration runs both ways. Musk said in March he was a "huge admirer" of Nvidia and Huang, called Nvidia’s market capitalization "well-deserved," and said Tesla and SpaceX expected to keep ordering its chips at scale.
Their relationship deepened in August when Musk said SpaceX would build "exclusively" on Nvidia, calling Vera Rubin "the best AI computer."
Image via Shutterstock
Login to comment