Limitless: An AI Podcast Elon Musk's Terafab: The Impossible Plan for a Galactic Civilization
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Mar 23, 2026 A jaw-dropping industrial plan to build a chip factory the size of a city and produce one terawatt of compute per year. Discussion of a two-chip split for Earth and space, and sending most chips into orbit on solar-powered AI satellites. Deep dives into the $20–25B price tag, massive launch logistics via Starship, and a lunar mass driver and robots building fabs on the Moon.
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TerraFab Created To Break The Lithography Bottleneck
- Elon announced TerraFab to vertically integrate chipmaking and bypass global lithography monopolies.
- He aims to combine Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI R&D to build a full-stack fab because ASML and current fabs create a single-point bottleneck.
A Factory The Size Of A City Aiming For One Terawatt
- TerraFab scope: $20–25B R&D plus a 100 million sq ft production fab to target one terawatt of compute per year.
- Josh and Ajaz compare that footprint to cities (bigger than San Francisco) to convey unprecedented scale.
Two Chip Families For Earth And Space
- TerraFab plans two chip lines: an Earth-optimized inference chip (AI5/AI6) and a radiation-hardened Dojo 3 for space.
- 20% production for edge (cars/Optimus) and 80% for space training satellites enables distinct optimizations.