Elon Musk addressed ASML employees to push his Terafab chip manufacturing project

Speaking via video with ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet in a fireside chat format, Musk addressed the employee-only gathering — an appearance the company confirmed publicly. His visit to the conference came shortly after he posted on X $TWTR calling ASML "arguably the greatest company in Europe" and saying it should be "treasured and supported," according to CNBC.

The Dutch company occupies a unique position in global chip production: it is the only supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, which carry a price tag of roughly $400 million apiece and are indispensable to Terafab's planned operations. Taiwan Semiconductor, Samsung, and Intel $INTC — the three dominant chipmakers — all depend on ASML equipment to fabricate cutting-edge AI chips.

Musk announced plans for Terafab in March as a joint venture between SpaceX and Tesla $TSLA to manufacture chips for both companies. The facility is planned near the Gibbons Creek Reservoir in Grimes County, Texas. Initial construction is estimated at $55 billion, with total investment potentially reaching $119 billion across multiple phases. Demand for chips will also come from SpaceX's own data center operations, which the company has committed to expanding following agreements to supply computing power to Google $GOOGL and Anthropic.

Last week, SpaceX secured a 100% property tax abatement from Grimes County for the project, despite strong opposition from residents who raised concerns about environmental damage, strained local resources, and a lack of transparency. Rather than paying standard property taxes, SpaceX agreed to pay the county a $10 million lump sum upfront and $20 million annually over 35 years.

Not everyone at ASML welcomed the appearance. Dutch newspaper Eindhovens Dagblad reported, as cited by the outlet, that a group of workers had circulated a message on the company's internal communications platform expressing concern that hosting Musk was incompatible with ASML's stated values — pointing to his role in U.S. politics and allegations of "Nazi sympathies" as their reasons.

Musk's courtship of ASML comes as SpaceX prepares for what could be the largest IPO on record. SpaceX filed terms for its offering at $135 per share, targeting a valuation of approximately $1.75 trillion and aiming to raise close to $75 billion. Trading on the Nasdaq $NDAQ under the ticker SPCX was set to begin on Thursday.