SpaceX: Elon Musk Addresses ASML Employees Ahead of IPO

Elon Musk addressed ASML’s annual technology conference ahead of Space X’s initial public offering, which raised US$75bn, in the world's biggest IPO. 

Elon was expected to speak to ASML employees, the only company in the world to manufacture extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, about his Terafab project, announced in March 2026 as a collaboration between xAI, Tesla and SpaceX.

In a post on June 6th, Elon said: “ASML should be treasured and supported. It is arguably the greatest company in Europe.”

Elon Musk at ASML’s annual technology conference

ASML’s annual technology conference, which started in 1999, is a hybrid global event. It began as a small knowledge-sharing event among engineers and has grown into one the the largest developer events worldwide. 

The company says the conference facilitates collaboration and knowledge sharing among its employees and R&D partners and serves as a platform for its R&D team to share innovations, breakthroughs and challenges. 

ASML’s CEO, Christophe Fouquet, has confirmed that he has had discussions ​with Elon over the Terafab project, according to a report from Reuters. 

The technology conference is only accessible to employees, so details of what was said are not known but the company confirmed that Elon attended the event. 

What does ASML mean to the Terafab project? 

Chips made with EUV lithography enable smart technology, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies. ASML is the only company in the world that can make the machines, essential for advanced chipmaking. 

It supplies these machines to companies like TSMC, Intel and Samsung. In a move that dropped shares in ASML earlier this year, TSMC decided not to purchase ASML's new lithography machines. 

However, Elon's Terafab project is designed to produce AI chips at scale, combining logic, memory and advanced packaging under one roof in the US. Elon will no doubt need to secure a firm partnership with the company to supply enough EUV machines to meet his massive demand for computers. 

Terafab's need for compute

Elon positions his Terafab project as essential as scaling enough compute for interplanetary, even intergalactic travel: “We aspire to be a galactic civilisation.

"That we become a multi-planet species, like the best science-fiction that you've ever read. Star Trek, or Iain Banks, or Asimov, or Heinlein. And we want to make that real, not just fiction. Turn science-fiction into science-fact" he said, when announcing the Terafab project in Texas earlier this year.

Elon added at the announcement that the entire output of compute, currently available on planet earth, is not enough to meet his demands, to support these ideas: “To give you a sense of what we are talking about, the current output of AI compute is roughly twenty gigawatts per year. 

“This chart explains why we need to build the Terafab because all of the rest of the output from earth is about 2% of what we need.

Supply chain constraints in chips

Elon added at the event in Texas that he would literally buy every chip available from his company's existing supply chain to support his need for compute.

Elon said: “We certainly want our existing supply chain to be clear. We are very grateful to our existing supply chain. To Samsung, TSMC, Micron and others. And we would like them to expand as quickly as they can.

“And we will buy all of their chips. I have said these exact words to them. But there’s a maximum rate at which they're comfortable expanding. But that rate is much less than we would like.”