TERA-print said in statement on Wednesday that it had discussed settling the dispute with Tesla as recently as September 2.
"Having been misled by Tesla’s professed interest in settling this matter, TERA-print will now vigorously defend its rights — which Tesla violates by using a trademark that is legally identical to Tera-print’s trademark" for "goods and services that are at least closely related to TERA-print’s business," it said.
Spokespeople for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case on Wednesday.
The Terafab plant in Grimes County, Texas, will make, package and test advanced logic and memory chips under one roof, producing processors needed to power Tesla's Optimus robots and Cybercabs and high-power chips to run SpaceX's space-based data centers.
The complaint said that Tesla applied for three "Terafab" trademarks at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in May.
Illinois-based TERA-print's Tera-Fab is a photolithography printer used in bioengineering and other fields.
The lawsuit said that TERA-print threatened to sue Tesla and SpaceX for infringing its "Tera-Fab" trademark in June, arguing "Terafab" would create consumer confusion.
"No reasonable consumer is likely to believe that Plaintiffs’ planned Terafab chip factory is sponsored by, affiliated with, or connected to TERA-print’s desktop pen lithography products," Tesla and SpaceX said in the lawsuit. "The parties’ marks arise in different commercial contexts, address different customers, concern different technologies, and point to vastly different undertakings."
The case is Tesla Inc v. TERA-print LLC, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, No. 1:26-cv-02543.
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