Elon Musk confirmed on Tuesday that Tesla and SpaceX are exploring a merger, with special committees from both companies reviewing a deal that could exceed $3 trillion in value. “Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes,” Musk said during a call with financial analysts reviewing SpaceX’s quarterly results.
The SpaceX and Tesla boards have set up committees to examine the proposal, although Musk warned that no agreement has been reached and there is no guarantee the deal will go through. “The special committees have not reached agreement on terms of any transaction, and there’s no guarantee that they will,” he said.
Tesla, valued at roughly $1.5 trillion, and SpaceX, estimated at $2 trillion, would create one of the largest mergers in history if combined. Musk described the process as “tap dancing through a minefield” and said he was not involved in the committees, calling himself a “conflicted party” due to his leadership roles at both companies.
The move follows a trend over the past year where Musk has consolidated more of his ventures under fewer umbrellas. SpaceX acquired xAI and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, both owned by Musk before their integration. The recent launch of Terafab, a joint effort between Tesla and SpaceX focused on manufacturing computer chips, further signals Musk’s interest in closer collaboration between his businesses.
Musk pointed to overlapping work in chips, artificial intelligence, and software as reasons why a merger would make sense. “There is a lot of merit to merging and a lot to be gained,” he said.
The decision ultimately lies with shareholders. Musk said at least 50% of Tesla’s investors would need to approve the merger, a “quite a high hurdle to achieve.” Tesla shareholders have supported Musk’s ambitions before: last year, a majority approved a compensation package for him valued at around $1 trillion.
Tesla, long known as an electric vehicle maker, has recently shifted some focus towards robotics. SpaceX, meanwhile, has outpaced Tesla in market value since its stock market debut earlier this year and is expanding its business beyond rockets and Starlink satellites. Its cloud computing services, offered to companies like Anthropic and Google, have become its most profitable venture, generating $7.5 billion in the latest quarter.
Musk’s dual leadership of both companies and their potential merger raise questions about the future shape of his business empire. The committees tasked with reviewing the deal have not disclosed specific terms or timelines. The scale of the merger, if it happens, would dwarf most corporate deals in history and reshape two of the world’s most influential technology companies.
SpaceX’s stock market debut earlier this year made Musk the world’s first paper trillionaire. Yet he remains cautious about merging his companies, acknowledging the complexity and risks involved. “Shareholders will decide,” he said.
The ongoing review by the special committees means the merger talks continue behind closed doors, with no certainty about next steps or outcomes. The financial and operational implications of such a merger would be enormous, touching everything from electric vehicles and space travel to artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
According to Joy Online.
