Speaking during TSMC's earnings call with analysts and investors on Thursday, Wei said the company was evaluating additional US sites and had sent teams to Texas to assess the state as a potential location.
"We expanded our capacity consideration to see outside Arizona, whether we can get another chance to expand our capacity," Wei said. "Texas is one [of our options]. We sent the teams to Texas to do all the evaluation. We also talked to one of our customers, who is trying to build a fab, Terafab, let me be more specific."
The comments confirm earlier reports that Musk's Terafab project had held talks with TSMC, and that Intel was the only other named partner in the venture. Musk had previously stated that Terafab's facility would be operated by his own company, with TSMC only sub-leasing cleanroom space. Wei pushed back on that arrangement.
"We are discussing with them to see whether we can be utilizing that actual capacity also," Wei added. "We are still in discussion. If we have any solid conclusion, we will share with you."
Asked directly whether TSMC would become part of the Terafab project, Wei replied: "Either way, it will be possible, but the fab has to be run by TSMC." The statement signals a potential sticking point in negotiations, as TSMC's standard business model — used at its joint ventures in Europe and Japan — involves operating the fabs it co-owns with investors.
TSMC is already building multiple advanced fabs in Arizona as part of a multibillion-dollar US expansion spurred by the CHIPS Act. Adding a Texas site would further strengthen its American footprint, but the operational control dispute with Terafab remains unresolved.