Elon Musk has revised what he said about chipmaking. In a new post, he admits he has “a tremendous amount to learn” and says he doesn’t know how to make chips. That’s a meaningful change, because only a few weeks ago he told Chinese media that China could get around lithography and chipmaking limits in “two or three years,” even with export controls in place and no access to the best equipment.
He says Terafab, the Texas chip project, would begin with standard tools, then modify those machines to push more throughput, and later move on to building custom equipment. The plan also pulls mask-making, fabrication, packaging, and process work into one operation, rather than relying on the usual supplier setup where those pieces are spread across different companies. Some people have compared the Texas effort to a Tesla-SpaceX-Intel mashup. Reports put the starting cost at about $17 billion. And Musk’s position seems to be that the team can still solve it, even if he’s not a chip industry veteran.
For people who follow semiconductors, the scale of the challenge is pretty clear. By most industry estimates, Taiwan produces more than 60% of the world’s chips and more than 90% of the most advanced ones, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) still dominates the foundry business. The obstacles aren’t just money. They’re equipment, talent, process complexity, and, above all, getting high yields at volume. That’s why some observers think mass production at strong yields could turn out to be tougher than some of Musk’s aerospace targets. And all of this feeds back into the larger US-China argument over export controls: do they actually slow China down, or do they just give China more reason to build faster toward self-sufficiency?
Author: Emmanuel Bosque
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"es-ES": "Emmanuel Bosque cubre videojuegos en Softonic: lanzamientos, actualizaciones que convierten un juego en otro sin decirlo y los movimientos de una industria que casi nunca avisa. Escribe pensando en quien va a jugar, no en quien va a discutir: qué se puede jugar hoy, en qué plataforma y si de verdad merece la descarga. Forma parte del equipo editorial de Softonic y trabaja a diario con herramientas de IA en la producción de contenido.",
"fr-FR": "Emmanuel Bosque couvre les jeux vidéo chez Softonic : sorties, mises à jour qui transforment discrètement un jeu en un autre, et une industrie qui prévient rarement à l'avance. Il écrit pour celui qui va jouer, pas pour celui qui va débattre : ce qui est jouable aujourd'hui, sur quelle plateforme, et si le téléchargement en vaut la peine. Il fait partie de l'équipe éditoriale de Softonic et travaille au quotidien avec des outils d'IA dans la production de contenu.",
"it-IT": "Emmanuel Bosque si occupa di videogiochi su Softonic: uscite, aggiornamenti che trasformano un gioco in un altro senza dirlo e un'industria che quasi mai avvisa in anticipo. Scrive per chi ha intenzione di giocare, non per chi ha intenzione di discutere: cosa si può giocare oggi, su quale piattaforma e se vale davvero il download. Fa parte del team editoriale di Softonic e lavora ogni giorno con strumenti di IA nella produzione dei contenuti.",
"nl-NL": "Emmanuel Bosque schrijft bij Softonic over videogames: releases, updates die een spel stilletjes in een ander spel veranderen, en een industrie die haar stappen zelden vooraf aankondigt. Hij schrijft voor wie gaat spelen, niet voor wie gaat discussiëren: wat je vandaag kunt spelen, op welk platform en of de download het waard is. Hij maakt deel uit van de redactie van Softonic en werkt dagelijks met AI-tools in de contentproductie.",
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"pt-BR": "Emmanuel Bosque cobre games na Softonic: lançamentos, atualizações que transformam um jogo em outro sem avisar e uma indústria que raramente anuncia seus movimentos com antecedência. Escreve para quem vai jogar, não para quem vai discutir: o que dá para jogar hoje, em qual plataforma e se vale mesmo o download. Faz parte da equipe editorial da Softonic e trabalha diariamente com ferramentas de IA na produção de conteúdo."
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