SpaceX and Tesla set up committees to study possible mega‑merger

What Happened

Elon Musk said SpaceX and Tesla have formed special committees to study a merger, calling the idea “a good idea” but noting he will not sit on the committees because of a conflict. The move follows SpaceX’s first profit as a public company and a 161 % jump in quarterly revenue to $14.58 billion, with AI earnings rising nearly ten‑fold to $7.56 billion. Musk highlighted the shared push into superintelligence software, saying cooperation could speed up AI development for both data‑centre services and driverless cars.

Reaction

SpaceX shares rose about 4.6 % after the earnings webcast, while Tesla stock gained 1.2 %. Barclays recently warned that an announcement could arrive before Tesla’s December annual meeting. Musk added that any deal would need approval from 50 % of all Tesla shareholders, not just a simple majority. He cautioned that some people assume a merger is certain, calling that view an overstatement.

Context

Both firms already share ties: SpaceX has bought more than $100 million of Tesla Cybertrucks and its AI arm xAI buys Tesla’s utility‑scale batteries. SpaceX is valued around $2 trillion and Tesla about $1.5 trillion, making the combined entity massive. The merger would unite Tesla’s electric‑vehicle, energy and robotics businesses with SpaceX’s launch and satellite‑internet operations, linking two of the world’s biggest companies.