Elon Musk (via Tesla and SpaceX) is building Terafab, a massive semiconductor fabrication plant in Grimes County, Texas, that he has called the largest and most valuable building on Earth. Confirmed in early August 2026, the joint project aims for more than 100 million square feet (roughly the size of a small town, over 5 times larger than the current record-holder New Century Global Center in China, and about 50 times the size of the Pentagon). Key details • Location: Grimes County, Texas (near the former Gibbons Creek Power Plant site and reservoir, roughly an hour northwest of Houston / east of College Station). A smaller research/precursor fab is already underway at Tesla’s Giga Texas North Campus in the Austin area. • Cost: Initial phase $16.8 billion (Tesla + SpaceX). Earlier filings and estimates put multi-phase totals as high as $55–119 billion. • Purpose and scale: Vertically integrated facility combining logic chip manufacturing, memory production, advanced packaging, and testing under one roof (using Intel process technology). Target output exceeds 1 terawatt of AI compute capacity per year—far beyond current global supply. Roughly 25% is expected for Tesla’s Optimus robots and Cybercabs; ~75% for SpaceX’s planned space-based data centers. • Jobs and incentives: At least 3,000 high-paying jobs (many local). Supported by Texas incentives, including tax abatements and a Texas Enterprise Fund grant. Timeline: Research fab broke ground in April 2026. Full-scale civil/construction work is starting now (as of the August 2026 confirmation), with the initial phase progressing over the coming years. Musk has described it as “the largest and most valuable building on Earth by far,” “stunningly beautiful,” and part of aiming for a “sci-fi city” vibe, similar to the aesthetic of Starbase and Tesla factories. Broader context of Musk’s building projects in Texas Musk’s companies continue expanding facilities across the state, including: • Ongoing growth at Giga Texas (Austin-area Tesla Gigafactory). • Snailbrook company-town development in Bastrop County (home to The Boring Company, X, and SpaceX Starlink manufacturing), adding homes, a science center, gym, and more amenities. • Starbase (SpaceX launch/manufacturing site in South Texas). xAI data-center expansions (e.g., Colossus-related facilities). Terafab is by far the biggest single-building project currently in the spotlight. Construction is just ramping up, so expect more updates on progress, water/power arrangements (it plans to use reservoir water and its own power generation), and detailed designs.