Gov. Greg Abbott announced that SpaceX will construct a vertically integrated semiconductor fabrication plant in Grimes County, a first-phase capital investment of more than $16.8 billion that is expected to create 3,000 new jobs, according to an Aug. 6 news release from the governor’s office. A $30 million Texas Enterprise Fund grant has been extended to SpaceX, and the facility, dubbed the Terafab, is a qualified project under the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation program.
“Texas is where big ideas grow even bigger,” Governor Abbott said in the release. “The first-of-its-kind Terafab facility will accelerate chip production in Texas at an unprecedented scale, create thousands of good-paying jobs in Grimes County, and expand economic opportunity for generations of Texans across Southeast Texas and beyond.”
The 100-million-square-foot facility will consolidate the semiconductor production chain under a single roof to meet the company’s future chip needs, with jobs for engineers, technicians, and plant operators, the governor’s office said. Texas is already home to SpaceX’s global headquarters, its Starbase launch facility, and a Starlink factory in Bastrop.
“We’re now embarking on the most epic chip-building effort — combining logic, memory, and advanced packaging all under one roof — in Grimes County, Texas,” said SpaceX Founder and CEO Elon Musk in the release, adding that the Terafab will enable the company “to produce AI chips at scale for use on Earth and in space.”
Local officials welcomed the project, according to the release. Grimes County Judge Joe Fauth III called it “a generational change for Grimes County.” Anderson-Shiro Consolidated ISD Superintendent Dr. Sarah Borowicz said the district’s agreement with the project marks “defining moments in the life of a school district,” while Iola ISD Superintendent Jeff Dyer said his board approved tax incentives under the JETI program after determining the agreement was in the district’s best interest. Greater Brazos Partnership President and CEO Tom Johnson said the region “stands ready to deliver the workforce and infrastructure that projects of this scale require.”
The Texas Enterprise Fund is a performance-based grant program administered by the Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office for projects competing with out-of-state locations, according to the governor’s office. The JETI program, created by House Bill 5 after the 88th Regular Legislative Session, is designed to attract large, capital-intensive projects while ensuring reporting and transparency.