TSMC CEO C.C. Wei says the company is in talks over Elon Musk's Texas-based Terafab project, but stresses that any participating fab "has got to be run by TSMC" (Debby Wu/Bloomberg)

Elon Musk's Terafab is expected to receive its first EUV lithography tool in mid-2027, according to reports. However, the facility's development will not be completed until late 2027, and the tools will only begin to be moved in later that year. This means the scanner will sit idle for some time. Construction of the research fab on the north campus of Giga Texas began in April and is predicted to be completed in 15 months.

After equipment and production tools are installed, it will be ready to start processing wafers for testing chip production. Obtaining an ASML Twinscan NXE EUV lithography tool is difficult, so the first delivery may seem like a financial setback. However, the projected delivery of a conventional EUV lithography system indicates that Terafab will rely on more traditional equipment, as it will use Intel's 14A manufacturing technology.

This does not necessarily mean that Terafab lacks plans for unconventional tools, but it is too early to speculate about potential changes in fab configuration.