Tesla and TSMC Reopen Talks Over Terafab Role in Texas

Tesla and TSMC are preparing to reopen negotiations over a broader TSMC role in the Terafab chip project in Texas, according to a report published by News18A on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. The renewed talks could give TSMC primary responsibility for both building and operating the facility — a marked reversal of the arrangement Elon Musk had previously sketched out.

TSMC's stock offered a quiet backdrop to the news. The shares traded at 361.75 euros on Lang & Schwarz at 09:31 CET on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, according to the market data accompanying the report.

What changed between Musk's plan and the new talks?

The story begins with a clash over control. Tesla CEO Elon Musk had earlier taken the position that Tesla and SpaceX would build and run the plant themselves. Under that earlier framing, the Taiwanese chipmaker's involvement would have been narrow: Musk had limited TSMC to a possible sublease of part of the site, with the project sponsors holding the reins.

The latest scenario looks different. TSMC could now take a more central role in construction and in day-to-day fab operations at the Texas site, according to the News18A report. What hasn't changed is everything that sits above the factory floor. The ownership structure and the investment commitments remain under discussion, and no terms have been finalized.

Why does control remain the central issue?

The possible shift speaks to a tension that has run through the project from the start. TSMC has indicated that any facility producing its technology would need to be operated by TSMC itself — a position the company has held consistently on process integrity grounds. Musk, for his part, wanted Tesla and SpaceX in the driver's seat, with TSMC as a tenant rather than an operator.

A wider operating mandate for TSMC would therefore redraw the balance between manufacturing expertise and the sponsors' desire for control. That trade-off is the crux of what the two companies now have to resolve.

What's settled and what isn't?

Nothing is signed. No final agreement has been announced, and the reported next step is simply the restart of negotiations. Several fundamental questions remain open:

• The division of construction duties between the parties
• Operating authority over the fab once it's built
• The equity ownership structure
• The size and shape of each side's investment commitment

Each of those items was still unsettled as of the November 4 report, and the outcome of the talks will determine whether TSMC ends up as the project's operating backbone or in a more limited supporting position.

Where the project stands now

For TSMC, a lead operating role at Terafab would extend its US manufacturing footprint and deepen its entanglement with one of the most watched industrial projects in America. For Tesla and SpaceX, handing the keys to an experienced foundry operator could de-risk the technical side of the build — at the cost of some of the control Musk originally insisted on.

The market, at least on the morning of the news, showed no dramatic reaction: 361.75 euros on Lang & Schwarz at 09:31 CET. The report did not say when the renewed negotiations would begin or how long they might take.

What comes next is the reported restart of talks, with construction duties, operating authority, equity ownership and investment all still on the table — and the final operating structure of the Terafab project likely to hinge on which side concedes more in the months ahead.

Company reference: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, ISIN US8740391003, ticker TSM.