Tesla and SpaceX have established special committees of independent directors to evaluate a potential merger, Elon Musk disclosed during SpaceX's earnings call on 20 October. Formed at shareholders' request, the committees exclude Musk because his interests in both companies create a conflict of interest. Although he endorsed a combination, he stressed that no terms had been agreed and that a transaction should not be considered certain.
A significant approval requirement remains at Tesla: any deal would need the backing of a majority of all outstanding shares, not merely those represented in a vote. Based on closing prices on 20 October, the companies had a combined market value of approximately $3.5 trillion, although this does not constitute an agreed transaction price. Their financial relationship already includes a $2 billion Tesla investment in SpaceX. Musk highlighted potential cooperation in AI software, chip design and robotics; the companies are also jointly developing the planned Terafab chip manufacturing complex.
The disclosure accompanied SpaceX's return to profit, with net income of $4.4 billion for July–September, compared with a $1.1 billion loss a year earlier. Revenue rose 161% to approximately $14.6 billion. Its AI division, now called Super Intelligence, generated roughly $7.6 billion in revenue, overtaking Starlink as its largest sales contributor. Agreements to rent computing capacity to AI companies helped drive the turnaround. Nevertheless, expenditure remained substantial: SpaceX invested $19.6 billion during the quarter, including $16.4 billion in AI.
