Yes, they can fail. Lots and lots of them fail immediately due to manufacturing defects. And over time, electromigration (where dopant atoms get kicked out of position by interaction with electron momentum) will slowly degrade their performance. And sometimes they fail due to specific events like an overheat or electrostatic discharge.
But the failure rate after initial burn-in is phenomenally low. They're solid state devices, after all, and the only moving parts are electrons.
But the failure rate after initial burn-in is phenomenally low. They're solid state devices, after all, and the only moving parts are electrons.