Elon Musk’s latest industrial venture could rewrite the record books, as Tesla and SpaceX move forward with plans to construct a semiconductor megafactory in Texas that is expected to span more than 100 million square feet—making it the largest building ever built.

Tesla and SpaceX announced Thursday that construction of the first phase of the Terafab semiconductor complex will begin in Grimes County, Texas, just outside Houston. The initial phase carries a projected cost of $16.8 billion.

Once fully completed, the sprawling facility is expected to exceed 100 million square feet, eclipsing every existing structure on the planet and becoming the world’s largest building by footprint.

Musk, who leads both Tesla and SpaceX, described the ambitious project as “the largest and most valuable building on Earth by far.”

To put its scale into perspective, the completed Terafab would surpass China’s New Century Global Center in Chengdu, which currently holds the title at approximately 18.9 million square feet and includes attractions such as an indoor beach and ski slope.

At more than five times the size of that complex, Terafab would also dwarf some of America’s most recognizable mega-structures, including the Pentagon, Apple Park, and the Mall of America combined.

Whether the project ultimately earns the title of the world’s largest building will depend on whether it is completed as currently envisioned. Concept renderings depict a massive wing-shaped structure stretching across the Texas landscape beneath an expansive translucent roof.

Musk has also emphasized the project’s architectural ambitions. “It will be stunningly beautiful,” Musk wrote on X. “Sci-fi city is what we’re aiming for,” he said in another X post.

Tesla said the factory is being driven by an urgent need for dramatically increased semiconductor production.

“Both Tesla & SpaceX will need far more chips than current & future global production can supply,” the company wrote, adding that the goal is “producing over 1 terawatt of compute per year.”

According to SpaceX, the facility will integrate nearly every stage of semiconductor manufacturing under one roof, including logic chip production, memory fabrication, packaging, and testing.

“The facility will be an advanced semiconductor fab that will bridge the divide between current global chip supply and the compute demand of the future,” the post read.

Semiconductors serve as the foundation of modern electronics, regulating electrical signals and powering everything from smartphones and computers to automobiles and advanced industrial systems.

The companies say chips manufactured at Terafab will be designed for much more than consumer electronics. According to Tesla, the facility “will produce chips optimized for edge computing and inference for use in hardware like Tesla’s Optimus robots and self-driving Cybercabs, along with high-power chips designed for operating SpaceX’s space-based data centers.”

The project is expected to generate at least 3,000 new jobs, with hiring focused primarily on residents of Grimes County and neighboring Brazos County.

Tesla and SpaceX noted that between 60% and 80% of employees hired at their existing Texas facilities have come from nearby communities, and they expect a similar pattern as Terafab expands.

Musk first introduced the Terafab concept in March, when the companies announced plans centered around a projected $25 billion investment.

The current first phase has been revised to a cost of $16.8 billion, although total investment across all planned construction phases could eventually reach as much as $119 billion.

The project will be built on the site of the former Gibbons Creek Reservoir, which previously supplied cooling water to a coal-fired power plant that ceased operations in 2018.

Recognizing concerns over water usage for large-scale computing facilities, SpaceX said it plans to use water from the existing reservoir rather than drawing from local groundwater supplies.

Not everyone in the surrounding community has embraced the project. Hundreds of Grimes County residents attended a county meeting Wednesday to voice concerns over millions of dollars in tax incentives awarded to the development and what they described as a lack of transparency surrounding the approval process.

The project has also secured support from the state. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration has approved a $30 million grant through the Texas Enterprise Fund, while Terafab also qualifies for assistance under the state’s Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation program.

Local education leaders expressed optimism about the development. Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Sarah Borowicz described the announcement as a defining moment for the district.

Intel has also confirmed that it will participate in the Terafab project, although the company has not yet disclosed the specific nature of its involvement.