Elon Musk's Terafab hits a roadblock before making a single chip, receives cease-and-desist order — firm files trademark lawsuit, has sold Tera-Fab-branded lithography tools for over a decade

Elon Musk's Terafab has encountered a hurdle before even manufacturing a chip, as it has been served with a cease-and-desist order by a small U.S.-based company called Tera-Print. The dispute stems from the use of the name Terafab, which Tera-Print has been using for about a decade, according to PCMag. Tera-Print sells tabletop-sized Tera-Fab-branded beam pen lithography (BPL) tools primarily for bioengineering and prototyping of microfluidic devices.

However, Terafab, owned by Tesla and SpaceX, plans to produce chips in massive quantities for AI, automotive, robotics, and space applications.

The trademark lawsuit between the two companies centers on the similarity of their names and the potential for confusion. Tesla's Terafab covers the custom manufacture of semiconductor chips, memory chips, integrated circuits, and wafer services, while Tera-Print's Tera-Fab is focused on polymer pen and beam pen lithography instruments, 3D micro-printers, 2D micro-scale molecular and material printers, and light-directed photochemical synthesis tools.

Despite these differences, both companies operate within the semiconductor technology sector, leading to concerns over possible consumer confusion. An initial settlement discussion was reportedly attempted, but Tera-Print alleges that Tesla preferred to continue negotiations rather than take the issue to court. Tera-Print has now decided to defend its registered trademark and argues that its products and services are distinct from Terafab's offerings.