Musk Confirms Tesla-SpaceX Merger Talks: Special Committees Formed for a Potential $3.5 Trillion Union

Elon Musk confirmed on October 20 that special committees of independent directors have been formed at both Tesla and SpaceX to explore a potential merger of his two flagship companies. Speaking during SpaceX’s quarterly earnings call — the first time he has addressed the long-rumored tie-up this forcefully — Musk said combining the companies made strategic sense, while stressing he was a conflicted party who cannot participate in the discussions. “I do think there is a lot of merit to combining the companies,” he said, adding that the committees “have not reached agreement on terms of any transaction and there’s no guarantee that they will.”

The scale is hard to overstate. With Tesla valued at roughly $1.5 trillion and SpaceX at about $2 trillion, a merger would create a combined company worth approximately $3.5 trillion — one of the largest corporate unions in history. The two companies are already collaborating: Tesla and SpaceX are jointly developing the Terafab chip plant, and both are rapidly converging on artificial intelligence and autonomous systems. AI now makes up more than half of SpaceX’s revenue, and Musk pointed to shared technology, manufacturing expertise and infrastructure as the logic for a union. CoinDesk noted the merger would also unite the companies’ bitcoin holdings into a treasury of 30,221 BTC.

Investors liked the idea: SpaceX shares jumped as much as 9% in after-hours and premarket trading following the comments, while Tesla gained about 1% premarket. Analysts broadly describe a deal as a matter of time — some expect one by the end of next year — though Musk himself warned against assuming it happens. “I think it would be a good idea, but the decision ultimately rests with the special committees of both companies,” he said. Musk called a Tesla shareholder vote “a high hurdle,” noting the committees he cannot join stand in the way of his own preference.

What it would mean: control is part of the appeal. Musk holds about 85% of SpaceX’s voting power through super-voting shares but only roughly 20% at Tesla; one analysis estimates a merger would give him about 57% of the combined company’s voting rights. A deal would also pool the enormous capital spending both companies face — SpaceX guided to $35–40 billion in fourth-quarter capex alone — and let them borrow and share services jointly. Wall Street pointed to last week’s Roadster unveiling, where a Tesla car with SpaceX rocket thrusters flipped and leapt over a line of trucks, as a teaser for what a combined company could build.