AI backlash has come for Elon Musk's massive Terafab chip factory in Texas

• SpaceX wants to build a massive $55 billion semiconductor facility in Grimes County, Texas.
• Concerned Grimes County residents crowded a public hearing on Tuesday to discuss the factory.
• The opposition resembled the backlash against AI data centers across the country.

John Federspiel, the senior director of Starlink Product Engineering who was representing SpaceX at the meeting, tried to alleviate concerns. He said SpaceX is committed to sustainability measures and highlighted its potential to stimulate economic growth. He said SpaceX intends to hire 1,800 local residents.

“This project presents significant opportunities in skilled trades, construction employment, suppliers and contractors, long-term technical workforce development, and, really, impacts that will affect every current and future business in Grimes County,” he said.

Despite the negative reactions, some Grimes County residents sided with SpaceX, saying they supported industrial growth.

“This shouldn’t be a political conversation or a referendum on one person or one company. This is about American exceptionalism. We’re living through the industrial revolution of our time, and this is a literal race,” one man said. “If America doesn’t win, it won’t just change Grimes County. It will change the country.”