ASML's Invitation to Elon Musk Triggers Employee Boycott Threats
The chipmaker has asked the tech billionaire to address staff this week on AI, robotics and chip production. Some employees say they will boycott, arguing that Musk's politics clash with ASML's values
Dutch chip equipment maker ASML has invited Elon Musk to speak at a closed internal technology conference this week, prompting a wave of negative reactions among some of its own staff. The company has confirmed the invitation after reporting by the Eindhovens Dagblad, while several employees have said they plan to boycott the event.
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What Musk will do
Musk is scheduled to take part in the conference via video link on Thursday, ASML said. According to the company, he will “share his vision on AI, robotics, space exploration and semiconductor production,” topics it describes as “relevant to our employees.” The event is closed to outside attendees and is intended for the exchange of knowledge and insights on new developments and research.
ASML says it regularly invites technology leaders from the industry to share their views. The invitation to Musk, it adds, was made “in the context of the Terafab project, which is highly relevant to the semiconductor industry.”
The Terafab connection
Terafab is Musk’s planned chip mega-factory in Austin, Texas, announced in March 2026. It is a joint project of Tesla, SpaceX and xAI, with Intel joining as a production partner. The factory is designed to make two types of chips: inference chips for Tesla cars and the Optimus humanoid robot, and a separate, hardened design for orbital data centres in space. According to investment bank Morgan Stanley, the total investment could reach $35–$45 billion.
For ASML, Terafab matters because such a factory cannot exist without its advanced chip machines. ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet has previously warned that Terafab will put enormous strain on the global chip supply chain. The company says that “through Terafab, Musk and his team become part of the broader ecosystem of our industry, and many companies, including ASML, will collaborate within this initiative.”
Why some employees are objecting
The invitation has triggered critical responses on an internal ASML communication channel, where some employees have argued that Musk’s political views and behaviour clash with the company’s stated values around equality and inclusion. According to the Eindhovens Dagblad, critics point in particular to what they see as “Nazi sympathies” (a reference to Musk’s controversial gesture at the inauguration of US President Donald Trump in January 2025) and to his perceived anti-European positions, including his vocal support for the German far-right party AfD. Several staff members have said they are considering boycotting the event.
The exact number of employees involved is not known, and ASML has not commented directly on the internal reactions. In a written statement, the company said: “ASML is committed to an inclusive work environment in which everyone feels valued and respected, can fully contribute, and is free to express his or her opinion.”
A wider Dutch debate
The row at ASML lands in a wider Dutch debate about how the country’s biggest tech companies engage with controversial American figures and platforms. Other parts of the Dutch public sector, including universities and several ministries, have in recent months looked for ways to reduce their dependence on American big tech and to push for more European alternatives. The local AI startup Mistral, in which ASML itself holds a stake, has been positioning itself as one such alternative. io+
At the same time, ASML is also one of the world’s most strategic technology companies, and its machines are central to nearly any major new chip factory, including Musk’s. Engaging with Terafab is, in commercial terms, hard to avoid; the question raised by its own staff this week is how the company should engage when one of the figures behind the project is, for many in Europe, deeply contested.
The closed-door conference is scheduled to go ahead as planned on Thursday.