Tesla and SpaceX have formed special committees to explore a merger, which would combine them into one company. Elon Musk announced the discussions during SpaceX's October 20 earnings call. The committees consist of independent board members and were created at shareholders' request. Although Musk leads both companies and supports a merger, he cannot participate in the discussions because his interests in both businesses create a conflict.
Musk said the companies could benefit from cooperation on AI software, chip design, and robotics. However, the committees have not agreed on any terms, and he warned that a deal is not certain. Approval at Tesla would require support from a majority of all outstanding shares, not simply a majority of those voted. Based on Tuesday's closing share prices, the businesses had a combined market value of about $3.5 trillion. This figure is not an agreed deal price.
SpaceX also reported a $4.4 billion net profit for July–September. Revenue, the money received from sales, increased 161% to about $14.6 billion. Its AI division generated about $7.6 billion, overtaking the Starlink satellite internet business as its largest source of sales. SpaceX credited new agreements to provide computing services, increased use of its Grok chatbot, and its purchase of AI coding company Cursor.
