ANDERSON, Texas (KBTX) – SpaceX could be coming to rural Grimes County — bringing with it a proposed semiconductor manufacturing and advanced computing facility that could represent more than $119 billion in total investment. But residents say they have more questions than answers about what’s actually being planned in their area.

A public notice filed by Grimes County names Space Exploration Technologies Corp. — known as SpaceX — as the business prospect behind a proposed multi-phase, vertically integrated semiconductor manufacturing and advanced computing fabrication facility.

The site is described as being located at the Gibbons Creek Reservoir and surrounding areas, off Highway 30 in a rural stretch of Grimes County, approximately 20 miles east of Bryan-College Station.

The county’s notice estimates $55 billion in capital investment for initial phases, with the total reaching as high as $119 billion if additional phases are built.

The project is described in the notice as a “transformative investment” aimed at expanding domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity.

‘They need to start sharing this information with us.’

Despite the scope of the proposed project, no official announcement has been made by SpaceX, Grimes County leaders, or Elon Musk.

While this project is a new development, chip fabricators and data centers have been proposed across rural Texas. Some residents say they’ve been piecing together information on their own — and they’re frustrated.

Marie Egyed, Director of Operations for Grimes County Citizens for Responsible Development — a community group formed months ago in response to proposed data center developments in the area — says the lack of communication from county leaders is the core problem.

“You know, if you tell us that Elon Musk is going to come here and build a data center on the Gibbons Creek site, I think everybody would be fine with that,” Egyed said.

“But [Grimes County Judge Joe Fauth is] not telling us anything. There is no announcement. We’re hearing through the grapevine that Elon Musk bought that property about a week ago. We know surveyors were out there last week surveying 1,900 acres. So the only thing that we know is what we are sharing with each other. And that is the problem that we have with this county. They need to start sharing this information with us.”

Egyed also noted that conflicting information has added to the confusion. At a previous community meeting in Iola attended by roughly 300 people, she says County Judge Joe Fauth indicated the project involved xAI — not SpaceX.

“The information that we got at the meeting in Iola, where we had 300 people that came, Judge Fauth was there, and I spoke to him personally, and he said that it was xAI. Now, you know they’re all owned by Elon Musk, but they are different companies that do different things,” Egyed said.

Egyed said the distinction matters significantly for the community.

“If it’s xAI, they’re going to be doing a data center. If they do, you know, SpaceX comes, it’s going to be something completely different,” she said. “The information that we have gotten about [the Gibbons Creek Reservoir] project is it’s a brownfield site. It’s probably one of the very few places in Grimes County that’s really even appropriate for a data center. I told the judge that.”

Residents plan to show up

Jacqueline Ross, a Grimes County resident who lives near Bedias, says her focus right now is on civic engagement.

“The main thing I want is for as many people as possible to show up and just be present, to let them know that we are paying attention, that they work for us, and we are paying attention to how they vote and how they protect their citizens,” Ross said. “I don’t really have any fear. I just — I’m just observing, cautiously observing.”

What’s next

Grimes County Commissioners Court is scheduled to meet on Wednesday morning, where an executive session item on a tax abatement for a proposed manufacturing, data center, and power plant project is on the agenda. This is a separate project from the SpaceX development.

Executive sessions are closed to the public.

A formal public hearing specifically for the SpaceX development is set for June 3, 2026, at 9 a.m. at the Grimes County Justice & Business Center, located at 270 FM 149 W. in Anderson.

The proposed agreement involves a designated reinvestment zone known as “SpaceX Reinvestment Zone No. 1 – 2026-001.”

Grimes County Judge Joe Fauth said he was unavailable for an interview but wants to hear from residents about these projects. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.