“ASML should be treasured and supported. It is arguably the greatest company in Europe.” Elon Musk wrote that in a June 6 post. He then spoke at ASML’s annual technology conference, ahead of SpaceX’s IPO, which raised US$75bn in the biggest offering ever.
ASML confirmed Musk attended. The event is open to employees only, so what he said has not been made public.
Why ASML
ASML is the only company that builds extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, known as EUV. Chips made with them go into AI, augmented reality and other advanced technology. TSMC, Intel and Samsung are among its customers, though shares in ASML fell earlier this year after TSMC decided not to buy its new lithography machines.
Musk’s interest is the Terafab project, announced in March 2026 as a joint effort of xAI, Tesla and SpaceX. It is meant to make AI chips at scale in the US, with logic, memory and advanced packaging all under one roof. ASML chief executive Christophe Fouquet has confirmed to Reuters that he has discussed Terafab with Musk.
Making EUV machines in volume is the bottleneck, and Musk will need a firm supply deal with ASML to get enough of them.
The scale Musk wants
At the Texas announcement, Musk tied Terafab to a much bigger aim. “We aspire to be a galactic civilisation,” he said, describing a multi-planet species and a push to turn science fiction into “science-fact.”
He backed that with a number. Current AI compute output is roughly twenty gigawatts per year, he said, and everything the rest of the planet makes is about 2% of what he needs. That, he argued, is the case for building Terafab.
He also said he would buy every chip his current suppliers can make. “We are very grateful to our existing supply chain. To Samsung, TSMC, Micron and others,” Musk said. “And we will buy all of their chips. I have said these exact words to them.” The catch, he added, is that those suppliers are only comfortable expanding at a rate “much less than we would like.”
The technology conference started in 1999 as a small knowledge-sharing event among engineers. It now runs as a hybrid global event and ranks among the largest developer gatherings worldwide.
