Tesla’s CEO said an earnings call was not the venue to discuss combining companies, while analysts pointed to Terafab, shared engineering and governance hurdles as key factors.
Elon Musk said he would not rule out a merger between Tesla and SpaceX, pointing to increasing collaboration between the two companies as their businesses overlap more. Speaking on Tesla’s earnings call, Musk said the matter could not be discussed there and would need to follow the appropriate process. The remarks revived long-running investor speculation about a combination of Musk’s electric-vehicle maker and rocket company, a debate that intensified during SpaceX’s record $75 billion initial public offering process. Tesla already supplies batteries and manufacturing technology to some SpaceX projects, and the two are jointly developing Terafab, a semiconductor manufacturing facility designed to make AI chips. Supporters say a tie-up could unify operations spanning artificial intelligence, robotics, manufacturing, energy and space infrastructure, but analysts have also flagged major obstacles including regulatory approvals, especially in China, and governance issues tied to Musk’s larger voting stake in SpaceX than in Tesla.