According to The Economic Times on October 29, citing people familiar with the developments, KLA Corporation, the US maker of semiconductor inspection and metrology equipment, is evaluating a manufacturing foray in India and is considering one or two applications under the country's Semicon 2.0 incentive scheme. KLA did not respond to the newspaper's queries. The event remains at a reported/evaluating stage with no confirmed implementation arrangements.
semiconductor inspection and metrology equipmentKLA CorporationDigiTimes AsiaCapacity Change
Elon Musk said on October 20, during a live broadcast of SpaceX's Q3 2026 earnings call on X, that ASML and other critical semiconductor equipment suppliers have expedited shipments to the Terafab semiconductor manufacturing facility, a joint megaproject between Tesla and SpaceX, to support his aggressive timeline. He said the company is targeting volume chip production at Terafab's primary facility in Gibbons Creek, Texas, by the third or fourth quarter of 2028, emphasizing that the timeline is highly aspirational and carries 'big error bars'; SpaceX plans to manufacture its first experimental test chip at its research fabrication facility in Austin, Texas, around Q2 2027. Terafab will use traditional extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems utilizing Intel's 14A manufacturing node; Intel officially joined the Terafab venture in April 2026 to co-develop and refactor silicon fabrication technology. According to unofficial sources, Terafab's first EUV tool was reportedly slated for delivery in mid-2027, and it remains unclear if this is the expedited timeline Musk referred to. Other major suppliers include Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA Corporation, as well as Japan's Tokyo Electron; Tesla and SpaceX are also in talks with about 10 South Korean equipment makers, including Hanmi Semiconductor (advanced packaging equipment) and HPSP (high-pressure hydrogen annealing equipment). Musk also outlined AI compute goals: 2.5 to 3 GW of computing capacity active by the end of 2026, a total of 13 GW by the end of 2027, and plans to bring a 440,000-GPU Nvidia 'Vera Rubin' training cluster online by the end of Q2 2027. The event remains a plan/target and volume production has not been achieved.
EUV lithography systemslogic chipsmemoryASML, Tesla and 11 totalTom's HardwareCapacity Change
According to Reuters, Elon Musk said during a SpaceX conference call that his semiconductor manufacturing venture, Terafab, is targeting volume production in 3Q28, though he acknowledged that either 3Q or 4Q remains possible, describing the timeline as "very aggressive" given that advanced logic chip fabs in the U.S. typically take three years or more to build. Before volume production, Terafab aims to produce its first functional test chip using SRAM circuits around May or June 2027 at its Austin research facility. Equipment supply remains a key challenge, particularly from ASML and U.S. suppliers such as Applied Materials and KLA; asked whether SpaceX had ordered EUV lithography systems from ASML, Musk did not answer directly but thanked ASML and other suppliers for accelerating equipment deliveries. Per Reuters, ASML expects demand to outstrip supply through 2028 despite plans to expand EUV production capacity. According to The Elec, Tesla and SpaceX are in talks with South Korean semiconductor materials, components, and equipment suppliers to establish Terafab's supply chain, with several companies signing NDAs; HPSP and Hanmi Semiconductor remain the only two Korean equipment suppliers publicly linked to Terafab, and Terafab is reportedly seeking prices even lower than those offered by Chinese competitors. On manufacturing partners, TSMC Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei confirmed ongoing discussions but stressed that any fab involving TSMC must be operated by the company, contrasting with Musk's October 7 remarks that his companies would build and operate Terafab, potentially allowing TSMC to sublease space without an operational role; meanwhile, per Reuters citing Bloomberg, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the company would remain involved in Terafab.
SRAM test chipadvanced logic chipsEUV lithography systemsTerafab, Tesla and 10 totalTrendForceCapacity Change
KLA Corp plans to build a new R&D and manufacturing facility for its SPTS division in Newport, Wales. The expansion targets production capabilities for etch, PVD, and CVD solutions used in MEMS, advanced packaging, and power devices. Neutral: This long-term capacity addition supports future supply but has no immediate impact on current trading dynamics.