Elon Musk said on Tuesday that SpaceX and Tesla are exploring a merger, but he made clear the deal is far from certain and would need approval from Tesla shareholders. He said both companies have formed special committees made up of independent directors to study the idea after requests from shareholders.
The comments came during SpaceX's earnings call and quickly put a number on what a combined company could mean. Dan Ives said the merger would likely value the new company at close to $5 trillion, with SpaceX at $1.98 trillion and Tesla at about $1.5 trillion today. He also said Tesla shareholders would likely demand a premium and that approval would probably require a higher share price, likely in the $500 to $550 range.
Musk said he sees “a lot of merit” in combining the companies and pointed to possible cooperation on super intelligence software, chip design, the Terafab, robotics, mass to orbit and the Starmind constellation. That helps explain why the idea is even being discussed now: Tesla's core car business is still the base, but Musk has been steering it toward autonomous products and humanoid robots, while SpaceX and Tesla already overlap in AI and manufacturing plans.
Still, the path to a deal is not close to smooth. Musk said a majority of Tesla shareholders would have to vote in favor, and he warned that people who treat a merger as a done deal are overstating it. That leaves the key question where the market will now focus: whether Tesla investors would back a combination that could create one of the world's most valuable companies, or insist on terms that make the price too steep to clear.
Shares moved immediately on the possibility. Tesla stock rose $14.01, or 3.8%, to $387.72 in morning trading, while SpaceX shares jumped $14.62, or 9.9%, to $162.41.
