This is among the sillier NSA stories I've read. First of all, the "link to NSA" was basically invented out of thin air. The original article in Die Zeit as well as this one are basically just reporting that TPM COULD be a "backdoor" for the NSA but not actually supporting the idea that it IS.

And beyond the issue of baseless speculation as a replacement for journalism, it's a little hard to understand why NSA (or anyone else) controlling TPM is a special threat to users. Despite what the article claims, I don't think TPM is a "backdoor" and it certainly isn't a "surveillance chip". And the articles don't explain how control over TPM gives someone a special advantage over computers with TPM support, an explanation I'm not holding my breath for.