Terafab’s first ASML EUV tool is expected in mid-2027
The timing points to months of idle equipment before the Texas fab is ready, extending the path to output for SpaceX’s chip-making plan.
Elon Musk’s Terafab is now expected to receive its first EUV lithography tool from ASML in mid-2027, even though the factory shell is not due to finish until late 2027 and equipment move-in would start only afterward. That timing means the scanner may sit unused for months, but the project is still moving ahead toward a long ramp for SpaceX’s in-house chip-making effort. SemiAnalysis says the Grimes County phase 1 fab should take about 20 months to build, 17 months to equip, and six months to ramp, with late 2029 operation and mid-2030 volume production. The site was announced in early August 2026, and drone footage in mid-September showed excavation and rebar work already underway. The article also says SpaceX ordered semiconductor manufacturing equipment in April 2026, before the public location announcement, and that the first phase is expected to use Intel’s 14A manufacturing technology rather than experimental light sources.
Why it matters
For SpaceX, the report suggests Terafab is still on a long buildout, not a near-term production line. For the project, getting the first EUV tool before the shell is finished means the schedule is now defined by construction and equipment timing rather than immediate manufacturing. That makes the later late 2029 operation and mid-2030 volume target the milestones to watch, not the first tool delivery.
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Sources
- Tom's Hardware