SpaceX to Invest $135B in Chip Manufacturing Over Five Years, UBS Sees WFE Market Doubling

According to UBS analyst Tim Arcuri on Tuesday (July 7), SpaceX's AI-focused division plans to invest approximately 1.1 trillion dollars in capital expenditure over the next five years, with roughly 20% directed to Terafab, a chip manufacturing facility for SpaceX and Tesla.

Assuming typical wafer fabrication equipment (WFE) capital expenditure represents 60%, SpaceX's chip manufacturing equipment spending over five years could reach $135 billion, matching the current global WFE total addressable market. Arcuri projects the global WFE market could reach approximately $300 billion by 2029. SpaceX has already placed orders for approximately $5 billion in chip manufacturing equipment for pilot production next year, with Arcuri estimating this grows to $10 billion by 2028 and potentially exceeds $50 billion annually before 2030-2031.