Tesla and SpaceX will invest an initial $16.8B to start building 'Terafab' chip factory in Texas

Impressive! This is huge!

"Tesla and SpaceX said Thursday that “Terafab,” the advanced chip factory they are jointly developing, will be built in Grimes County, Texas, outside Houston, and that they will make an initial investment of $16.8 billion in the project.

The factory will be “the largest and most valuable building on Earth by far,” Elon Musk, CEO of both companies, wrote in a post on Thursday. More than 100 million square feet of manufacturing space is planned for the facility, according to SpaceX. ..."

"... construct a vertically integrated semiconductor fabrication plant in Grimes County. The first phase of the Terafab project represents a capital investment of more than $16.8 billion and will create 3,000 new jobs. ..."

"... Terafab will be epic in both its mission and in its sheer size, designed to build new compute at an unprecedented scale and speed.

A vertically integrated factory with more than 100 million square feet of manufacturing space is planned.

This facility will house the manufacturing, packaging, and testing of advanced logic and memory devices. Bringing these aspects together in one location will enable fast, recursive improvements and accelerate new compute deployed. Terafab will produce chips optimized for edge computing and inference for use in hardware like Tesla’s Optimus robots and self-driving Cybercabs, along with high-power chips designed for operating SpaceX’s space-based data centers. ...

Much of the world’s semiconductor production remains concentrated overseas, and the United States has recognized the importance of rebuilding advanced manufacturing capacity domestically. Terafab aligns with that broader national effort by expanding high-end manufacturing capacity in Texas. ...

The Terafab site is committing to the use of Gibbons Creek Reservoir water for industrial operations rather than local groundwater; planned on-site wastewater treatment facilities; water reuse and conservation efforts ..."

Tesla and SpaceX will invest $16.8B to start building 'Terafab' chip factory in Texas | TechCrunch

Governor Abbott Announces SpaceX Expansion In Grimes County

Breaking Ground on Terafab in Texas (original news release)

SpaceX has bought $329M worth of Tesla Megapacks so far this year and by December 2025 it had acquired $131 million worth of Tesla Cybertrucks

Amazing stuff! Is SpaceX becoming an electric vehicle? Just kidding!

"SpaceX has ramped up purchases of Tesla Megapack, spending $295 million on the battery storage devices in the second quarter and $329 million so far this year, according to the company’s earnings report released on Tuesday.

The purchase illustrates just how interconnected Elon Musk’s universe of companies are. Musk, who is the CEO and largest shareholder of SpaceX, also runs Tesla. Musk’s artificial intelligence business xAI acquired his social media platform, X, in 2025. Earlier this year, SpaceX gobbled up xAI. ...

The industrial-scale batteries are likely being deployed at the company’s xAI data centers. Before xAI merged with SpaceX, the AI company bought $430 million worth of Megapacks for its data centers. In the first quarter of this year, xAI had purchased only $34 million worth of the equipment. SpaceX also reported that as of December 2025, it had acquired $131 million worth of Tesla Cybertrucks at manufacturer’s suggested retail price, according to its regulatory filing. ..."

SpaceX has bought $329M worth of Tesla Megapacks so far this year | TechCrunch

SpaceX launched the first nuclear-powered commercial satellite

Good news!

"SpaceX launched the first nuclear-powered commercial satellite, built by Florida-based City Labs, aboard a Falcon 9 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California."

"City Labs today announced that its BOHR (Betavoltaic Orbital High-Reliability) satellite, the world’s first commercial nuclear-powered satellite and first nuclear CubeSat, has been officially manifested aboard SpaceX Transporter-17, a rideshare mission launched today.

The BOHR mission demonstrates City Labs’ proprietary NanoTritium™ betavoltaic technology in orbit as a dedicated payload power source, providing continuous, long-duration electrical power independent of solar energy. This milestone establishes a new class of spacecraft capabilities, enabling persistent operation of critical subsystems where traditional power systems fall short. This includes deep space, permanently shadowed lunar regions, and long-duration autonomous sensor networks.

The BOHR spacecraft utilizes conventional solar power for satellite bus operations, while the NanoTritium™  system is used to power and validate the payload demonstration. ..."

Wednesday, July 8, 2026 - Join The Flyover

SpaceX just launched the 1st-ever nuclear-powered commercial satellite "Who needs solar power anyway?" [???]

City Labs Launches World’s First Commercial Nuclear-Powered Satellite Aboard SpaceX Transporter-17 (original news release)

SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell pledges shares to new Trump Accounts for more than 2 million children

This lady shoots well! 😊 A nice example of American philanthropism!

"SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said Monday she would donate a portion of her company stock to Trump Accounts for more than 2 million children in areas with lower average household income. 

The effort will place “a bit more emphasis” on children, between 11 and 17 years old, who live near her central Texas home, Shotwell wrote on X. "

SpaceX president pledges shares to new Trump Accounts

Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO of SpaceX, speaks during a bell ringing ceremony for the IPO of SpaceX at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, Friday, June 12, 2026, in New York. 

Current Forbes profile

Her X post

SpaceX has lofted about 5 times more satellites than anyone else or more thane everyone else combined in history

Elon Musk never ceases to amaze me! Bravo!

P.S. There is some confusion/ambiguity about the statement! My guess is that Musk meant to say five times more than any other organisation.

Elon Musk: "Within ~5 years, probably ~5 times as many satellites as rest of world"

"Elon Musk's company has now lofted more spacecraft than the rest of humanity combined — and its lead is likely to grow over the coming months and years.

Investor and former space-industry executive Christian Keil highlighted the achievement in a June 12 X post, which noted that SpaceX had launched 15,262 satellites as of that date. The combined total for all other companies and organizations since the dawn of the space age in 1957 was 15,138, according to Keil."

Launch monster: SpaceX has lofted more satellites than everyone else in history, combined | Space

Credits: Human Progress

Source

SpaceX unveils 'Stargaze' space satellite tracking system free of charge

Good news! It is crowded in low Earth orbit! Congestion in the sky!

"SpaceX today unveiled an online tool, called Stargaze, for tracking space objects and warning of potential on-orbit collisions — with a promise to provide the system’s space situational awareness (SSA) data free of charge to other satellite operators.

SpaceX recently faced a collision scare in December when a Chinese satellite nearby one of its Starlink communication birds made an unannounced maneuver. That and other near misses over the past year has prompted the company to lower some 4,400 Starlinks to about 480 kilometers where there is less congestion, in part because dead satellites and other debris falls out of orbit faster due to the stronger gravitational pull of the Earth. ..."

SpaceX unveils 'Stargaze' space tracking system - Breaking Defense "Stargaze, which will publish space monitoring data free of charge, uses startrackers carried on all Starlink satellites to calculate possible collisions in low Earth orbit, according to SpaceX."

SpaceX Stops Russia’s Unauthorised Use of Starlink in Ukraine

Absolutely stunning how one man can have so much influence on the outcome of a current war!

SpaceX seeks federal approval to launch 1 million solar-powered satellite data centers

Amazing stuff!

"SpaceX has filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission to launch a constellation of up to 1 million solar-powered satellites that it said will serve as data centers for artificial intelligence. ...

The FCC recently gave SpaceX permission to launch an additional 7,500 Starlink satellites, but said it would “defer authorization on the remaining 14,988” proposed satellites.

There are currently around man-made 15,000 satellites orbiting the Earth, according to the European Space Agency, and they’re already creating issues with pollution and debris. ..."

SpaceX seeks federal approval to launch 1 million solar-powered satellite data centers | TechCrunch

SpaceX gets FCC OK for 7,500 more Starlink satellites

Good news?

"The Federal Communications Commission has approved SpaceX's request to launch another 7,500 Starlink satellites, bringing the total to 15,000. The expansion will allow Starlink to operate on five frequencies and offer direct-to-cell connectivity globally. SpaceX must launch half of the new satellites by December 2028 and the rest by December 2031."

IEEE-USA SmartBrief

SpaceX gets FCC approval to launch 7,500 more Starlink satellites

From The ‘School Of Elon Musk’ To Billion-Dollar Startups: Meet SpaceX’s Alumni Founders

Recommendable! Total valuation about $11 billion for those startups!

Debris from the recent explosion of SpaceX’s Starship posed a greater risk to civilian plane flights over the Caribbean Sea than was publicly known.

Bad news!

Recent news suggest there are plans to build data centers in space and so on.

"According to FAA documents reviewed by WSJ, two airliners and a business jet declared fuel emergencies and flew through a temporary no-fly zone as air-traffic controllers scrambled to keep planes away from the debris.
The documents also said that SpaceX didn’t immediately inform the agency about the explosion through an official hotline. SpaceX declined to comment. After WSJ's article was published, SpaceX said the Journal’s reporting was misleading and described the piece as containing incomplete information."

The Wall Street Journal What's news

A Russian cosmonaut turned out to be a spy and was removed from SpaceX mission

Well Putin the Terrible himself was a KGB agent!

"A Russian cosmonaut was removed from SpaceX’s February mission after allegedly photographing classified SpaceX engines and documentation at company headquarters, violating U.S. national security laws."

Friday, December 5, 2025 - Join The Flyover

Cosmonaut removed from SpaceX's Crew 12 mission for violating national security rules: report

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lands on "Of course I still love you"

The kind of humor of Elon Musk? 😊

"A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink satellites lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on California’s central coast and touched down 8.5 minutes later on the SpaceX [autonomous spaceport] ship Of Course I Still Love You, stationed in the Pacific Ocean."

Sunday, September 28, 2025 - Join The Flyover

Autonomous spaceport drone ship Of Course I Still Love You

Just read the instructions! 😊

Rabea Rogge: Deutschlands erste Frau im All

Gute Nachrichten aus der Bananenrepublik D! Das scheint kein Aprilscherz der Bild zu sein! Sie fliegt mit Elon Musk! 

China Simulates 'Hunting' Elon Musk's Starlink Satellites

Recommendable! Does not seem to be a serious threat! All computer simulations!

SpaceX’s new Bandwagon program is a big threat to small launch providers

Good news! Competition is good! More competition is better! The tide lifts all boats (satellites)!

"SpaceX is expanding its rideshare program with a new series of missions aimed at meeting the demand for launches to mid-inclination orbits. The new program, which was quietly announced at a space industry conference earlier this month, is the latest sign that SpaceX intends to take no prisoners in the small launch market. ..."

SpaceX’s new Bandwagon program is a big threat to small launch providers | TechCrunch 

Amazon is about to go head to head with SpaceX in a battle for space internet dominance

They say competition is good! Why not in space!

Jeff Bezos and Amazon are late to the show!

"Last month, the US Federal Communications Commission approved the final aspects of Project Kuiper, Amazon’s effort to deliver high-speed internet access from space. In May, the company will launch test versions of the Kuiper communications satellites ...
The rocket that will launch Amazon’s first two Kuiper satellites—the United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket—has been assembled at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Its inaugural launch is set to fly two prototype Kuiper satellites, called KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2, as early as May 4. Ultimately, Amazon plans to launch a total of 3,236 full Kuiper satellites by 2029. The first of that fleet could launch in early 2024. ..."

Amazon is about to go head to head with SpaceX in a battle for space internet dominance  | MIT Technology Review In its bid to catch up with Starlink, the company plans to build as many as four satellites a day.

Kuiper Belt

China Caught COPYING SpaceX Starship!

Recommendable!