Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) shares fell more than 4% in pre-market trading on Monday following reports that TSMC is discussing a potential collaboration with Elon Musk’s Terafab semiconductor project in Texas.
Intel joined the Terafab project in April 2026, when its next-generation 14A node was named as the project’s sole manufacturing process technology.
TSMC’s US-listed shares rose around 1% in pre-market trading, while its Taiwan-listed shares closed 3% higher on Monday.
Elon Musk confirmed on Sunday, October 4, that discussions with TSMC were taking place, writing on X: “Just discussions, but something may come of it.”
His comments followed an October 2 report from the Culpium newsletter stating that TSMC was exploring ways to participate in Terafab’s planned semiconductor manufacturing operations in Texas.
Report Outlines Potential TSMC Structure
According to Culpium, one possible structure would involve TSMC owning and operating a new manufacturing facility, with Terafab acting as an anchor customer. The report compared the potential arrangement with TSMC’s JASM joint venture in Japan and its ESMC partnership in Germany.
Any involvement in Terafab would be additional to TSMC’s previously announced $265 billion investment commitment for its 12-facility Arizona complex.
Terafab is being developed by SpaceX and Tesla in Grimes County, Texas, approximately 100 kilometres northwest of Houston. An August 6 announcement committed $16.8 billion to the project’s first phase, while county filings indicate that total investment across multiple phases could reach $119 billion.
Planned production from the project is intended for Tesla, SpaceX and xAI. Separate reports had previously indicated that TSMC was evaluating a potential Texas investment in addition to its Arizona plans.
Susquehanna Estimates Further Intel CPU Model Share Declines
Separately, Susquehanna analysts estimated that Intel continued to lose CPU model share across both laptop and desktop products during the third quarter, while AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) gained share and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) increased its presence in laptops.
According to Susquehanna, Intel’s laptop model share declined 3.9 percentage points quarter over quarter to 68.1%, while AMD’s share increased 3.1 percentage points to 29.3%. Qualcomm’s share rose to 2.2%, its highest level in the analyst’s study.
Intel’s Panther Lake processor, which uses the company’s 18A manufacturing process, accounted for approximately 1.8% of Intel-based laptop SKUs, compared with 0.4% in the previous quarter. Susquehanna said the rollout was ahead of Lunar Lake’s trajectory but approximately in line with Arrow Lake.
In desktops, Susquehanna estimated Intel’s model share declined 1.6 percentage points quarter over quarter to approximately 76%, its lowest level in the study since the second quarter of 2023.