Tesla, SpaceX, and SpaceXAI have initiated a legal challenge in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas. The companies filed a declaratory judgment action on September 15 to address a trademark conflict regarding the name Terafab.
The dispute involves the Illinois-based nanotechnology company Tera-print, which holds a trademark for Tera-Fab. Tera-print issued a cease-and-desist letter on May 23, shortly after Tesla submitted its own trademark applications for the name on May 18.
Following the letter, the parties held six settlement meetings between June and August, which failed to resolve the issue. Tesla and SpaceX argue that the two companies operate in distinct product sectors and that consumer confusion is unlikely.
The plaintiffs also noted that Tera-print filed an additional application on May 22 covering semiconductor-related goods, describing the timing as opportunistic. Tera-print maintains its intention to defend its existing intellectual property rights.
Elon Musk announced the Terafab project in March, positioning it as a chip manufacturing facility for AI computing. Intel joined the initiative in April, though the specific details of its involvement remain undisclosed.
Project documentation from May indicated that total costs could reach $119 billion across all phases. In August, the companies confirmed a site in Grimes County, Texas, with the first phase of construction estimated at $16.8 billion.
