Wei has confirmed. Addressing financial analysts and investors during the foundry giant’s quarterly earnings call, the head of the world’s largest contract chipmaker also officially confirmed ongoing negotiations with Elon Musk regarding potential participation in Musk’s planned mega-facility, “Terafab. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is exploring options to expand its manufacturing footprint in the US beyond Arizona, with Texas emerging as a key candidate under review, chairman and CEO C.C. However, Wei laid down a non-negotiable condition for any partnership: TSMC will only take part if it manages and operates the facility directly, as per a report by Tom’s Hardware.
TSMC had remained silent on the talks until Thursday (October 15) While Musk had previously confirmed that discussions were underway between Terafab and TSMC to utilise the giant semiconductor complex together.
One potential path forward could involve Terafab retaining ownership of the broader real estate while leasing a defined section of the facility to TSMC, which would then independently run its own production lines, according to the report. Whether TSMC and Musk can bridge the gap remains uncertain. This structure would allow Musk to maintain master facility ownership while handing TSMC the technical control it demands over its proprietary manufacturing processes. However, significant technical hurdles loom. If Terafab opts to deploy Intel’s 14A process technology inside the complex, housing TSMC’s proprietary production lines under the same roof would become exceptionally complex, if viable at all.