Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he supports a possible combination during a SpaceX webcast, but independent director committees have yet to settle terms, leaving any deal at an early stage.
At the Oct. 20 third-quarter earnings webcast, Musk said shareholders had asked each company to form a committee of independent directors. He said a conflict kept him from joining their discussions. The companies' board reviews of a possible merger are continuing. Musk said the groups had not settled terms and might not reach an agreement.
“Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes,” Musk said. He pointed to possible joint work in connectivity, robotics, Terafab, chip design, superintelligence software and mass-to-orbit activity tied to the Starmind constellation.
Musk said shareholders would ultimately have to support any deal. He did not estimate potential financial gains, identify who would bear costs or explain how a transaction would be structured. The webcast included no valuation, exchange ratio or timetable.
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, SpaceX reported $14.575 billion in revenue, 161% above the comparable 2025 quarter's $5.576 billion. It reported $4.4 billion in net income, after a loss of $1.1 billion a year earlier. SpaceX's Oct. 20 filing reported quarterly results; Musk discussed the committees during webcast remarks.
A Tesla proxy filing says the company completed an investment of about $2 billion in SpaceX Class A shares on March 12. It says SpaceX acquired xAI Holdings on Feb. 2, converting Tesla's right to buy xAI preferred shares into a right to buy SpaceX Class A shares.
Tesla's proxy sets the company's annual meeting for Dec. 3 and was filed before Musk's remarks. It lists votes on board nominees, executive pay and the auditor, but no merger question. The meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.
