Intel’s Terafab Opportunity Gets Crowded: Musk Confirms Talks With Taiwan Semiconductor

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) stock is trading lower by almost 4% during Monday’s premarket session as investors weigh fresh competition around Elon Musk’s Terafab semiconductor project. Nasdaq futures are down 0.15%, while S&P 500 futures have slipped 0.04%. Intel Faces Fresh Terafab Competition Intel’s decline follows a fresh development around Musk’s planned Texas-based Terafab semiconductor project. Musk confirmed early-stage discussions with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) about a potential role in the project. The talks introduce a new competitive wrinkle for Intel, which joined the Terafab project earlier this year. Intel is expected to provide its next-generation 14A manufacturing process. Intel said in April that it was working with Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX), xAI and Tesla on Terafab. The company said its chip design, manufacturing and advanced packaging capabilities would support the project’s goal of producing 1 terawatt per year of computing capacity for artificial intelligence and robotics. The possibility that Taiwan Semiconductor could also participate raises questions about how much of the project Intel could ultimately capture. However, Musk said the Taiwan Semiconductor discussions remain preliminary. Against that backdrop, Intel shares fell about 4% as investors weighed the prospect of greater foundry competition within one of Intel’s closely watched external manufacturing opportunities. Technical Analysis Despite the premarket weakness, Intel remains above its major moving averages. That keeps the longer-term trend constructive. The stock is about 3.2% above its 20-day simple moving average of $111.64. It is also about 14.2% above its 50-day SMA of $100.87. The moving-average structure also remains bullish. The 20-day SMA is above the 50-day SMA, while the 50-day SMA is above the 200-day SMA of $81.18. That setup typically signals a strong uptrend. However, the outlook could weaken if the stock falls below its shorter-term averages and fails to recover. Momentum also remains positive. The MACD is above its signal line, while the histogram is positive. That suggests selling pressure is easing and buyers are gaining control. Key Resistance: $127 — a nearby round-number level where rebounds could stall Key Support: $98.50 — a previous buyer-defense zone near the broader uptrend See More: Top Value Stocks Intel Earnings And Analyst Outlook Intel’s next major catalyst could arrive with its estimated Oct. 22, 2026, earnings report. EPS Estimate: 39 cents, up from 23 cents a year earlier Revenue Estimate: $16.41 billion, up from $13.65 billion a year earlier Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: Intel carries a Hold rating with an average price forecast of $114. Recent analyst actions include: TD Cowen: Maintains Hold, price forecast of $115 (Sept. 24) Tigress Financial: Maintains Buy, raises price forecast to $145 (Sept. 15) Piper Sandler: Initiates with Neutral, price forecast of $110 (Sept. 10) Benzinga Edge Rankings Below is the Benzinga Edge scorecard for Intel, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses compared with the broader market: Momentum: Bullish (Score: 98.82) — Intel is showing strong relative strength compared with the broader market, consistent with its sharp 12-month climb. The Verdict: Intel’s Benzinga Edge signal points to a momentum-driven setup. Trend strength remains the main driver. For longer-term traders, the key question is whether Intel can hold above its short- and intermediate-term moving averages during pullbacks. Holding those levels could help keep the broader uptrend intact. Intel Top ETF Exposure iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX): 5.68% weight Invesco Semiconductors ETF (NYSE:PSI): 5.71% weight State Street SPDR NYSE Technology ETF (NYSE:XNTK): 5.98% weight Significance: Intel carries a meaningful weight in these funds. As a result, significant ETF inflows or outflows could lead to additional buying or selling of Intel shares. Price Action INTC Stock Price Activity: Intel shares were down 3.60% at $115.04 during Monday’s premarket trading, according to Benzinga Pro data. Read Also: 5.6 Million Downloads in Weeks: Meta Muse Outpaces Sorad ChatGPT in Early Rollout