Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and CEO of Tesla, stated on the 10th that given his companies’ expertise in creating custom equipment, he believes they will “figure out a way to make chips better than anyone else.”
Speaking via livestream to customers and investors gathered outside Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, during the “X Takeover” event, Musk candidly admitted that while they currently “have no clue how to manufacture microchips, we will figure it out.”
He noted that during visits to competitors’ factories, he did not see much custom equipment, whereas his companies possess extensive experience in this area; he believes this expertise can be leveraged to improve production processes.
“I think it is accurate to say that this is one of the hardest things to do in the world,” Musk said. “I don’t want to be complacent or arrogant, but I think we will figure out a way to make chips better than anyone else. Honestly, I don’t know how long it will take—perhaps several years.”
Musk is currently planning the “Terafab” gigafab in Grimes County, Texas. This project is a joint venture involving his companies—Tesla and SpaceX—and Intel, with an initial investment exceeding $15 billion. The project is expected to create 3,000 jobs and has secured a $30 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund. The facility is planned to span 100 million square feet and will be built in phases.
SpaceX’s stock price recently rebounded above its $135 IPO price, making Musk the first person in the world to reach a net worth of $1 trillion.
SpaceX is nearing an agreement with the investment firm Grain Management; once finalized, SpaceX will acquire the necessary spectrum to operate as a mobile carrier, competing against T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T. According to Tesla’s latest data, global deliveries in the third quarter reached 486,532 vehicles, surpassing the average estimate of 463,761 vehicles from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.