Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. sued Illinois nanotechnology company TERA-print LLC in federal court in Austin, asking a judge to declare that Terafab does not infringe TERA-print’s registered Tera-Fab trademark. The dispute follows Tesla’s three Terafab trademark applications filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in May, a cease-and-desist letter and litigation threat from TERA-print in June, and settlement discussions reportedly continuing as recently as Sept. 2. The name applies to Tesla and SpaceX’s planned $16.8 billion semiconductor complex in Grimes County, Texas, which is intended to make, package and test advanced logic and memory chips for Optimus robots, Cybercabs and SpaceX’s proposed space-based AI data centers. The campus is planned to exceed 100 million square feet and employ at least 3,000 people, with later phases potentially raising total investment to $119 billion. Musk has said an Austin research-and-development wafer fab could produce useful products by the end of next year, while practical Terafab output is targeted for the end of 2027. The project reflects efforts to reduce reliance on Taiwan-based chip supply, although TSMC says new capacity generally takes 2 to 3 years to build and another 1 to 2 years to ramp.