THE CRUNCH
Tesla and SpaceX have filed a declaratory judgment action in a Texas federal court to block a trademark dispute over the name Terafab. The move follows a cease-and-desist letter from Illinois nanotechnology firm Tera-print, which claims the name infringes its existing mark for a desktop photolithography system. The two sides have held six settlement meetings since June without agreement, and Tera-print says it will
Tesla and SpaceX argue that Tera-print's own trademark application for semiconductor-related goods, filed just days after their own, was opportunistic. They contend that the two entities operate in different product spheres and that consumer confusion is unlikely. The project, announced by Elon Musk in March as a chip factory for AI compute, has already secured a Grimes County, Texas site and attracted Intel as a partner.
The legal battle adds a layer of uncertainty to the ambitious project, which Musk has estimated could cost up to $119 billion across all phases. The first phase of construction at the Texas site is valued at $16.8 billion. While the companies have confirmed the site and the project's scale, the exact role of Intel remains unclear, and the trademark dispute could complicate the project's branding and commercial rollout.