Elon Musk has confirmed that he is considering merging Tesla and SpaceX, saying special committees at both companies are examining the possibility.
“Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes,” Musk said on Tuesday during a call with financial analysts discussing SpaceX’s quarterly results.
Musk cautioned that a merger is not guaranteed and would require shareholder approval. He said the special committees had yet to agree on the terms of any transaction.
“The special committees have not reached agreement on terms of any transaction and there’s no guarantee that they will, but I do think there is a lot of merit to merging and a lot to be gained.”
Tesla is valued at about $1.5 trillion, while SpaceX is valued at $2 trillion. A merger would combine the two companies in one of the largest corporate deals in history.
SpaceX shares rose 8% in after-hours trading following the comments, while Tesla shares gained 2% after trading slightly lower in recent weeks. Tesla was due to report its own quarterly results on Wednesday.
SpaceX, which develops rockets and Starlink internet satellites, has expanded into providing computing capacity for technology companies, including Anthropic and Google.
Its latest quarterly results showed $7.5 billion in revenue from its computing business and $5.2 billion from Starlink. Despite those figures, SpaceX has recorded a loss of $1.1 billion so far this year.
Musk has increasingly brought his businesses together. Before its stock market debut earlier this year, SpaceX acquired xAI and X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, which were also owned by Musk.
The launch of Terafab, a joint Tesla and SpaceX effort to manufacture computer chips, has also signalled closer cooperation between the companies.
Musk said a full merger could make sense given their overlapping work in chips, artificial intelligence and software. He also said he was not part of either special committee examining the proposal because he is chief executive of both companies.
Describing himself as a conflicted party, Musk compared discussing a possible merger to “tap dancing through a minefield.
He said shareholders would make the final decision. At least 50% of Tesla shareholders would need to approve the deal, a threshold Musk described as quite a high hurdle to achieve.
Tesla investors have previously backed Musk’s proposals. Last year, a majority approved a compensation package for him valued at about $1 trillion.
Tesla, best known for its electric vehicles, has increasingly shifted resources towards robotics. SpaceX, meanwhile, has expanded its focus on artificial intelligence infrastructure and surpassed Tesla in market value following its stock market debut.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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