Intel stock was edging lower early Wednesday, missing out on a broad rally in chips and other artificial-intelligence names. Investors may be playing comments by Elon Musk over in their heads.

The SpaceX CEO unveiled some ambitious targets for the Terafab venture -- an AI chip project involving SpaceX, Tesla, and Intel.

Musk said he is aiming for the first test chip to be made by May or June next year, with volume production being reached around the third quarter of 2028.

Then came the tantalizing hints. "We do have, I think, some significant potential breakthroughs in chip fabrication but I don't think I should discuss that on an earnings call. Let's not give away the shop here," he said.

Whatever that might be, he said he's "optimistic that we will dramatically accelerate chip production."

That sounds positive for Intel. However, the market may still be nervous about the role the company's rivals may yet play in the Terafab project.

The shares had a tough start to October after Musk signaled Intel's rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing was in talks to help run the Terafab chip project. "Just discussions, but something may come of it," he said in a post on X.

He later suggested that TSMC would supplement rather than replace Intel's role. But the very possibility that Intel may not have the project all to itself unsettled investors.

With that in mind, Musk's cryptic comments could resurface those nerves. The market doesn't seem to know quite what to make of it -- the stock was down less than 0.1% in early trading.