Tesla Poaching From TSMC? Terafab Project Recruitment in Taiwan Targets Top Semiconductor Talent

TradingKey - Tesla ( TSLA) is recruiting semiconductor engineers in Taiwan to scout core talent for its Terafab AI chip project.

As the home of TSMC ( TSM ), Taiwan hosts a vast pool of semiconductor talent with advanced process experience. Tesla’s move clearly targets this mature talent reserve to fast-track its own chip plant construction, posing a potential brain drain risk for local giants like TSMC.

Tesla has listed nine engineering roles in Taiwan targeting professionals with over five years of advanced chip manufacturing experience, covering core front-end steps such as lithography, etching, thin-film deposition, and chemical mechanical polishing, as well as yield engineering and process integration.

Job listings show some roles require experience in sub-7nm process nodes or even 2nm technology. Notably, one position explicitly requires familiarity with CoWoS and SoIC advanced packaging—technologies pioneered by industry leader TSMC.

Beyond recruitment, Tesla is accelerating the supply chain setup for its Terafab project. Sources say Musk's team has approached equipment giants like Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, and Lam Research regarding pricing and lead times.

In recent weeks, they have also contacted makers of photomasks, substrates, etchers, deposition tools, cleaning systems, and testers in preparation for the facility's construction.

Tesla Terafab Sends Shockwaves Through the Industry

Last month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk officially unveiled the Terafab project, stating bluntly that the expansion pace of manufacturers like TSMC cannot match his growing demand for computing power; Intel subsequently announced it would join the project. This news has caused a major stir in the semiconductor industry and has led TSMC to feel potential competitive pressure.

During TSMC's earnings call this week, CEO C.C. Wei responded to the Terafab project, stating that Intel and Tesla are both customers and competitors of TSMC. He noted that TSMC does not underestimate any rival, but emphasized that there are "no shortcuts" in the chip industry; it typically takes three to five years for a new semiconductor fabrication plant to move from construction to production ramp-up. He added that TSMC remains fully confident in its technological leadership.

TSMC's recently disclosed financial report shows the company achieved a net profit of NT$572.5 billion, a significant year-on-year increase of 58%. It has set new performance records for four consecutive quarters, and market confidence in TSMC's development continues to strengthen.

The Terafab project was jointly launched by Tesla, xAI, and SpaceX, with a total estimated investment of $20 billion to $25 billion. It aims for an annual production of 1 terawatt of computing power chips, a scale equivalent to more than 50 times the current combined capacity of all semiconductor fabs worldwide.

Musk's ambitious plan is not only to satisfy his own computing power requirements in fields such as autonomous driving, humanoid robots, and artificial intelligence but also an attempt to disrupt the current division of labor in the semiconductor industry and gain core control over chip manufacturing through vertical integration.

Looking at industry trends, with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technology, the demand for computing power is experiencing explosive growth. Major tech giants are increasing their investments in the chip sector, and building in-house fabs has become a new trend. In addition to Tesla, NVIDIA ( NVDA ), Intel ( INTC) and other companies are also accelerating their plans for in-house fab construction or capacity expansion.