Tesla (TSLA) shares have outpaced several major technology stocks over the past month as the company advances its Terafab semiconductor project and prepares to open its Semi factory in Nevada.

TSLA Leads Mega-Cap Peers

Tesla shares gained 12% over the past month. Alphabet rose 8%, while Nvidia gained 3%. Meta and Apple declined over the same period, while Microsoft climbed 29% and Amazon advanced 12%.

Terafab Moves Forward

Terafab AI signed a tax-value limitation agreement with the Anderson-Shiro Consolidated Independent School District in Texas. The state published the agreement on Tuesday, after the application process ended in June. Such school-district agreements are Texas's main tool for recruiting large industrial plants, and the state kept the mechanism when it replaced its expired Chapter 313 incentive program with the Jobs, Energy, Innovation and Technology Act in 2023.

Tesla and SpaceX plan to start construction at the Grimes County site, northwest of Houston, in December 2028. The companies expect an initial investment of $16.8 billion and the creation of at least 3,000 jobs. Earlier filings showed the project could eventually expand to $119 billion.

Under the agreement's tax terms, eligible property would carry no taxable value for school maintenance taxes during construction. From 2029 through 2038, the value would equal half of the property's market value.

The planned 100-million-square-foot complex would manufacture, package, and test advanced logic and memory chips. Tesla would lead research and prototyping, while SpaceX would manage high-volume production. The companies plan to use the chips in Optimus robots, Cybercabs, SpaceX systems, and xAI data centers, tying Elon Musk's automaker, rocket company, and AI startup into a single planned U.S. chip supply chain. SpaceX has also partnered with Intel and plans to use Intel's 14A chip technology, the company's next leading-edge process as it competes with TSMC and Samsung for foundry customers.

Goldman Sachs expects global chip-equipment spending to rise from $150 billion in 2026 to $218 billion in 2027 and $281 billion in 2028 as new capacity expands.

Tesla Semi Factory Nears September Opening

Tesla plans to open its 1.7-million-square-foot Semi factory in Nevada on Sept. 24. However, the company expects the early production ramp to move slowly ahead of the scheduled opening. The plant sits next to Tesla's existing Gigafactory Nevada complex near Reno. The Semi has had a long road to volume production: Tesla unveiled the truck in 2017 with initial output once planned for 2019, and the first production units went to PepsiCo in December 2022.

The plant can produce up to 50,000 trucks a year. Tesla recently received a 500-truck order from Einride, while WattEV ordered 370 units and Big F Transport ordered 40. The Semi also received 965 of the 1,067 applications submitted to California's clean-truck incentive program, the state's voucher-based Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project, which offsets part of the higher upfront cost of zero-emission trucks for fleet buyers.

Tesla lists its 325-mile Semi at about $260,000 and the 500-mile version at about $290,000. Its Megacharger can reportedly restore 70% of driving range in about 30 minutes.

Publicly announced Semi orders total about 1,500 trucks, far below the factory's planned annual capacity. Tesla plans to release European specifications and rollout details during Germany's IAA Transportation show in September 2026.