Austin, Texas — Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla Inc., SpaceX and xAI, told an audience at the Terafab project launch that humanity should prioritize grand-scale advancements in the universe rather than minor disputes on Earth.
Musk made the remarks during a presentation on March 21, 2026, at the defunct Seaholm Power Plant in Austin, where he announced Terafab, a joint $20 billion to $25 billion chip fabrication initiative by Tesla, SpaceX and xAI aimed at producing massive computing power for artificial intelligence and related technologies, according to reports from Electrek and Teslarati.
“In the grand scheme of things, just how tiny we are,” Musk said. “We often get caught up in these squabbles on Earth that are really very minor things when you consider the grandness of the universe. And so I think it’s important actually to consider the grandness of the universe and what we can do that is much greater than what we’ve done before, as opposed to worry about sort of small squabbles on Earth type of thing.”
Elon Musk:
— Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane) March 22, 2026
"We often get caught up in these squabbles on Earth, that are very minor things when you consider the grandness of the universe. I think it’s important to consider the grandness of the universe and what we can do that is much greater than what we’ve done before, as… pic.twitter.com/Q1FNT5C4KT
Musk tied the comment to the project’s energy ambitions. He noted that even if civilizational power output increased by a factor of one million, it would represent only about a millionth of the sun’s energy output. “That should hopefully get us to at least a millionth of the sun’s energy,” he said in the presentation, according to transcripts and clips shared on platforms including RealClearPolitics video and Instagram reels. “It’s humbling to think about that.”
The Terafab announcement, first teased by Musk on X in mid-March 2026, positions the facility as the largest semiconductor fabrication plant ever planned, targeting production of up to 200 billion custom AI chips annually on advanced process nodes.
Musk has expressed similar views on multiple prior occasions. In a 2019 appearance on the Lex Fridman podcast, while discussing Carl Sagan’s “Pale Blue Dot,” Musk said people “get too trapped in their squabbles amongst humans and just don’t think of the big picture.” He has repeatedly described Earth as a “tiny dust mote” in the solar system and humanity’s consciousness as a “tiny candle” in vast darkness that risks extinguishment without expansion beyond the planet.
On X, Musk posted in December 2023 that “human civilization is still a tiny startup in the grand scheme of things.” In other posts, he has referenced harnessing even a millionth of the sun’s energy as a pathway to vastly greater prosperity, stating it would make every human a billionaire in purchasing power equivalents.
Human civilization is still a tiny startup in the grand scheme of things
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 3, 2023
The comments align with Musk’s longstanding rationale for SpaceX’s mission to make life multiplanetary, which he has described as essential to preserving consciousness against potential Earth-based catastrophes.
The Terafab project remains in early stages, with construction timelines and exact locations still under development, according to company statements and media coverage.
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