[News] Musk’s TeraFab Lands First Major Hire as 18-Year Intel Veteran With 18A Experience Joins as Director

Elon Musk’s Terafab project has added an Intel veteran to its leadership team. According to Wccftech, Gary Jiang is Tesla’s first major hire for the initiative. Jiang announced the move on his LinkedIn profile, where he lists his new role as Director, Tera Fab, a position he assumed in June 2026 and is based in Austin, Texas.

As highlighted by the report, Jiang spent nearly 18 years at Intel before joining Tesla. Most recently, he served as a Factory Manager at Intel’s Arizona operations, where he helped prepare the company’s facilities for the 18A manufacturing ramp. Earlier in his career, he oversaw high-volume manufacturing for Intel’s 22nm and 14nm processes.

The report suggests that Jiang’s experience building and managing semiconductor manufacturing operations likely contributed to his recruitment for the Terafab project. It also notes that Intel, his former employer, is partnering with Tesla and SpaceX on Terafab through its 14A process.

Electrek notes that hiring an Intel 18A factory manager as Director of Terafab marks a meaningful step in building Tesla’s semiconductor manufacturing expertise. However, the report cautions that a single leadership hire cannot replace the decades of experience and institutional knowledge required to operate a leading-edge fab, and that the greater challenge will be successfully executing the project and achieving high production yields.

The appointment comes as Terafab continues to gain momentum. Reuters recently reported that Elon Musk has outlined the project’s vision at an ASML event, with the Dutch lithography leader expected to play a key role in the initiative.

The hiring also follows recent progress on Terafab’s development. As noted by Reuters, Grimes County recently approved tax incentives for the proposed semiconductor campus, paving the way for the project to move forward.

Reuters also reports that SpaceX and its partner Tesla will invest an initial US$55 billion in the project, with total investment potentially reaching US$119 billion if it is fully built out.

Read more

• [News] TSMC on Terafab: No Shortcuts in Foundry; Confirms Next-Gen LPU Project amid Samsung Rivalry
• [News] Intel Reportedly to Brief Staff on TeraFab Involvement in Coming Weeks, While Key Foundry Details Remain Limited

(Photo credit: Intel on X)