Tesla and SpaceX merger countdown?
Tesla’s 2026 annual shareholder meeting must be held no later than December 6. While a merger of this kind would bring some financial synergies, its real value lies in the vertical integration of the two companies’ artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
SpaceX and Tesla already have several business ties and overlapping investor groups, and both companies are led by Elon Musk. The rocket manufacturer has purchased more than $100 million worth of Tesla Cybertrucks, while xAI is a major customer for Tesla’s utility-scale batteries.
The two companies are also working together on a chip manufacturing project called Terafab. The project will produce semiconductors for Tesla’s electric vehicles, robotaxis, and Optimus robots, as well as a chip designed exclusively for SpaceX’s orbital AI satellites.
Musk has recently discussed various ways his two largest companies could interact and integrate. On the latest earnings call, for example, he said that Tesla and SpaceX “overlap in many areas.”
The possibility of a Tesla/SpaceX merger has increasingly become the market consensus. Although an announcement of a Tesla/SpaceX merger could be delayed until late October or even early November, if it slips into that window, securing shareholder approval for the acquisition at the annual meeting would become significantly more difficult.
Investors and analysts have long widely expected the two Musk-owned companies to merge, especially after SpaceX completes a record-breaking IPO this year. Reports in January said SpaceX had considered merging with Tesla, but ultimately decided to acquire Musk’s AI startup, xAI.
The main obstacle to any deal would be a shareholder vote, as shareholders of both Tesla and SpaceX may need to approve the merger.
“In the vote at Tesla’s 2025 annual shareholder meeting, about 11% of the total shares eligible to vote were ‘broker non-votes,’ which were effectively counted as ‘against’ votes. We expect Tesla to try to increase shareholder participation in a potential vote on a SpaceX merger.”
Tesla’s 2026 annual shareholder meeting must be held no later than December 6. While a merger of this kind would bring some financial synergies, its real value lies in the vertical integration of the two companies’ artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
SpaceX and Tesla already have several business ties and overlapping investor groups, and both companies are led by Elon Musk. The rocket manufacturer has purchased more than $100 million worth of Tesla Cybertrucks, while xAI is a major customer for Tesla’s utility-scale batteries.
The two companies are also working together on a chip manufacturing project called Terafab. The project will produce semiconductors for Tesla’s electric vehicles, robotaxis, and Optimus robots, as well as a chip designed exclusively for SpaceX’s orbital AI satellites.
Musk has recently discussed various ways his two largest companies could interact and integrate. On the latest earnings call, for example, he said that Tesla and SpaceX “overlap in many areas.”
The possibility of a Tesla/SpaceX merger has increasingly become the market consensus. Although an announcement of a Tesla/SpaceX merger could be delayed until late October or even early November, if it slips into that window, securing shareholder approval for the acquisition at the annual meeting would become significantly more difficult.
Investors and analysts have long widely expected the two Musk-owned companies to merge, especially after SpaceX completes a record-breaking IPO this year. Reports in January said SpaceX had considered merging with Tesla, but ultimately decided to acquire Musk’s AI startup, xAI.
The main obstacle to any deal would be a shareholder vote, as shareholders of both Tesla and SpaceX may need to approve the merger.
“In the vote at Tesla’s 2025 annual shareholder meeting, about 11% of the total shares eligible to vote were ‘broker non-votes,’ which were effectively counted as ‘against’ votes. We expect Tesla to try to increase shareholder participation in a potential vote on a SpaceX merger.”