Terafab Gibbons Creek

Overview

The Largest Building on Earth

Ten times the floor area of the Giga Texas main building.

Terafab is the volume-production fab SpaceX and Tesla are building at the former Gibbons Creek coal plant in Grimes County, about 20 miles east of Bryan-College Station. SpaceX describes one building of about 100 million square feet, at least 2.5 miles long, which would make it the largest building on Earth by floor area. Governor Abbott announced it on August 6, 2026 with a $16.8B first phase; county filings put four phases at up to $119B.

It will make, package and test AI logic and memory: low-power inference chips for Optimus and Cybercab, high-power chips for SpaceX's orbital data centers, and compute toward the program's target of 1 TW of new compute a year. The Research Fab at Giga Texas develops the process; Gibbons Creek runs it at volume.

Why Gibbons Creek

Power, Water, Land and Workers on One Site

The Texas Municipal Power Agency ran a 470 MW coal plant at Gibbons Creek from 1982 to 2018 and built the 3,500-acre reservoir to cool it. A fab at Terafab's scale needs power, water, contiguous land and workers together, and the coal plant left most of them in place. Moving anywhere else would add an estimated five to 10 years of power and water work.

Two fabs

The Research Fab and the Production Fab

Process development cannot share line time with volume production, so Terafab splits them across two counties. Tesla runs the research line at Giga Texas; SpaceX runs volume here. Intel joined as the first foundry partner in April 2026, and Musk named Intel 14A as the Terafab process; in October he confirmed talks with TSMC.

Capital

From $5B to $119B

Each figure measures a different scope, from the county's $5B minimum to the four-phase filing. At $119B the buildout equals about half of one year of worldwide semiconductor capital spending. The county abates 100% of building and equipment taxes from 2027 through 2036 in exchange for a $10M payment, a $5B minimum investment by 2030 and 1,800 jobs by 2035.

The chips go to Musk's own companies: Tesla for Cybercab, the fleet and Optimus; SpaceXSI for training compute; SpaceX for orbital compute; and the ground data centers of both. Musk: "We either build the Terafab, or we don't have the chips, and we need the chips, so we build the Terafab."

Timeline

Filing to Groundbreaking in Three Months

1. May 5, 2026SpaceX files for tax abatement and names Grimes County
2. May 20, 2026SpaceX S-1 describes only "a general framework" with Tesla; neither Tesla nor Intel is obligated to stay
3. May 27, 2026WIT TECH LLC, deeds signed by Musk's family office, starts buying land at the reservoir
4. June 4, 2026Commissioners Court approves the Chapter 312 abatement and Chapter 381 agreement
5. July 14, 2026Iola and Anderson-Shiro school boards approve all four JETI phases, 5-2 each time
6. July 2026Attorney General rules most Terafab records public
7. August 5, 2026SpaceX answers residents at the Commissioners Court and commits to 3,000 jobs
8. August 6, 2026Governor Abbott announces the project, a $16.8B first phase and a $30M Texas Enterprise Fund grant
9. August 2026Groundbreaking; site clearing begins
10. August 24, 2026WIT TECH holds 41 parcels, 7,720.7 acres
11. September 2026SpaceX sues the Attorney General and Grimes County to block records release
12. September 21, 2026Governor pauses new TCEQ data center permits; the county judge says Terafab is a chip plant and exempt
13. Late September 2026Site cleared and burn piles across it; heavy truck traffic on Highway 90 at Anderson
14. October 3, 2026Musk confirms talks with TSMC: "Just discussions, but something may come of it"
15. October 7, 2026Bloomberg reports Intel will keep working with Musk on Terafab
16. Late 2027Limited operations targeted

Light source

A Free Electron Laser for EUV

SpaceX renderings released August 6, 2026 showed what looked like an accelerator ring under the building, and Musk answered speculation about a free electron laser (FEL) with "FEL FTW." Every EUV scanner today is ASML's and makes its 13.5 nm light by hitting tin droplets with a CO2 laser, one source per scanner. An FEL drives an electron beam through alternating magnets to make the light; the accelerator runs hundreds of meters, so it only pays when one source serves many scanners, as in a 100-million-square-foot fab.

The leading FEL-EUV startup is xLight of Palo Alto, chaired by Pat Gelsinger, with a $150M CHIPS award finalized June 2, 2026 and a prototype due in 2028. ASML scanners would still do the exposure downstream of any FEL.

Open issues

Records, Permits and Neighbors

Records. SpaceX is suing the Attorney General and Grimes County in Travis County district court to block release of the abatement application and land records.

Permits. TCEQ air permits for the on-site gas plants, water and wastewater permits, and the governor's September pause on new data center permits, which the county judge says does not cover a chip plant.

Neighbors. Grimes County has about 30,000 residents. Grimes County Citizens for Responsible Development has pressed for protections on water, roads, traffic and rural character; the county agreement requires 30 days' notice before any groundwater permit application.

Related coverage

Related Coverage

• Terafab Research Fab Giga Texas
• Terafab: Global Case Study
• Substrate Project Factory One
• Texas A&M Semiconductor Institute at RELLIS
• AggieFab Nanofabrication
• Brownfield Inheritance