Friday: billions for Musk's chip factory, confession by Snowflake data thief

SpaceX and Tesla have announced they will initially invest $16.8 billion in the construction of their joint project, Terafab, located in the U.S. state of Texas. This marks the beginning of a major industrial initiative aimed at building what could become the largest fully integrated semiconductor manufacturing facility in the world. According to SpaceX’s website, Terafab will specialize in producing AI accelerators for training and inference, alongside solar cells and memory components. The project, which is expected to expand significantly through future phases, is situated in Grimes County, near Houston, in the southeastern part of Texas. Elon Musk, CEO of both SpaceX and Tesla, described Terafab Texas as “by far the largest and most valuable building in the world.” He noted that the facility would help close the gap between global chip supply and the computational power required by SpaceX and Tesla, which is projected to exceed one terawatt in the coming years. The initial phase of the investment represents a significant reduction from earlier projections. In a May filing with the authorities, SpaceX had proposed an initial investment of $55 billion, with potential total costs reaching up to $119 billion if additional phases were realized. The location of Terafab has been finalized, marking another major presence for Musk’s ventures in Texas. The site, adjacent to the Gibbons Creek Reservoir, will utilize water from the reservoir rather than local groundwater for its industrial processes. This choice reflects broader efforts to optimize resource usage in large-scale manufacturing operations. The facility is expected to create at least 3,000 jobs, many of them sourced locally, and will span more than nine million square meters. It will produce chips optimized for edge computing and inference, key technologies for Tesla’s Optimus robots and self-driving vehicles, as well as high-performance chips for space-based data centers operated by SpaceX. Beyond Terafab, Musk continues to integrate artificial intelligence into his companies' core operations. Earlier this year, SpaceX acquired xAI, a startup focused on advanced AI research. This acquisition aligns with Musk’s vision of creating a vertically integrated innovation system combining AI, rocketry, satellite internet, direct mobile connectivity, and a leading real-time information and free speech platform. Additionally, Musk became the first person to reach a net worth of one billion dollars following SpaceX’s record-breaking stock offering in June. Meanwhile, other developments highlight the complex landscape of technological and legal issues affecting the tech industry. A Canadian man named Connor Riley M., accused of stealing data from the Snowflake cloud service, has admitted guilt and faces potential prison time ranging from two to 30 years. The alleged theft led to extortion involving over $2.5 million from affected customers such as AT&T, while the sale of stolen data in the dark web added nearly half a million dollars to the total. His sentencing is scheduled for late October. Separately, the Chinese automaker BYD launched its first plug-in hybrid vehicle produced in Brazil, the BYD Song Pro Super-Hybrid Flex Fuel. This model can run on electricity, gasoline, or ethanol and is particularly popular in Brazil, the second-largest producer of ethanol globally. However, the plant in Camaçari has faced criticism over alleged poor working conditions, with responsibility attributed to a subcontractor. Despite these controversies, the vehicle's release underscores growing interest in biofuel-powered vehicles in Latin America.