Musk Calls a Potential SpaceX-Tesla Merger a 'Good Idea' as Committees Weigh the Deal
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Image: BBC News.
Elon Musk, chief executive of both Tesla and SpaceX, said Tuesday that bringing the two companies together would be a good idea, and he disclosed that special committees have been formed at each company to assess a potential deal, according to the BBC. Musk stressed that nothing has been agreed and there is no guarantee a merger will happen.
With Tesla valued at roughly $1.5 trillion and SpaceX at about $2 trillion, a combination would mark the largest merger ever, the BBC reported. Musk said he saw “a lot to be gained” from joining the businesses, pointing to the work each does around chips, artificial intelligence and other technology projects. The deal would combine Tesla’s cars, robots and self-driving technology with SpaceX’s rockets, data centres, satellites and telecommunications operations, the BBC said.
Any deal would require shareholder backing, including at least half of Tesla’s shareholders — a threshold Musk himself called “quite a high hurdle,” and one he cannot help clear: as head of both companies, he cannot participate in shareholder discussions, the BBC reported. Analysts quoted by the BBC, including Dan Sheehan of Telos Wealth Advisors, expect shareholders to back a deal, while David Nicholson of The Futurum Group called it a question of “when,” citing last week’s unveiling of a new Tesla Roadster powered by SpaceX rocket thrusters as a symbolic hint at consolidation. Over the past year SpaceX acquired xAI and X, formerly Twitter, before going public this year, the BBC noted. The Hill and the New York Times also reported on Musk’s remarks.