Tesla and SpaceX Form Merger Committees, but Elon Says It’s Not Certain

Image: SpaceX

Elon Musk says both Tesla and SpaceX have formed special committees of independent directors to look at combining the two companies, but he warned against treating a merger as a done deal.

That’s according to SpaceX’s Q3 earnings call on Tuesday, where Musk answered an analyst question about a possible combination during the official webcast. “Both SpaceX and Tesla have formed special committees to discuss this idea at the request of shareholders,” Musk said, adding that the committees are made up of independent directors. “And because I’m a conflicted party, I can’t actually be in the discussions of the special committees,” he said, describing the process as “an odd kabuki dance where two groups of people are talking and I can’t be in the conversation.”

The SpaceX CEO also tried to cool expectations around a deal. “I think some people out there assume that a SpaceX and Tesla merger is a certainty,” he said. “And I think that would be overstating it.” He added that the committees “have not reached agreement on the terms of any transaction. And obviously there’s no guarantee that they will.”

Update, October 22: SpaceX repeated the committee news in its Form 10-Q filed Thursday, saying its board “has formed a special committee to evaluate a potential combination between SpaceX and Tesla” and that Tesla’s board has done the same. The filing also says no decision has been made: “No determination by our special committee has been made regarding any potential combination,” and any deal would still need approval from the special committee, SpaceX’s board and its controlling shareholder.

When he posed the question to himself on the call, his own view was clear. “Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes,” he said, pointing to cooperation on super intelligence software, chip design, Terafab, robotics and the Starmine constellation. He said the final call still belongs to the committees and shareholders, noting that on the Tesla side “we will need a 50% vote of all shares,” not just of those who vote, which he called “quite a high hurdle.” Whatever the committees come up with, he said, “that’s got to be put to the shareholders as a vote.”

His answer puts a formal process behind what had mostly been speculation. On Monday, Tesla set its 2026 annual shareholder meeting for December 3, and the proxy has no merger vote on the ballot. Musk’s description of a vote that needs a majority of all outstanding Tesla shares suggests any deal would need its own shareholder process.

Merger speculation has been building for weeks, and over the weekend employees at both companies were spotted following each other on X, which added fuel to the chatter.

The two companies are already tied together in several ways. Tesla bought roughly $2 billion of SpaceX shares in March, and the two are jointly building the Terafab chip plant in Texas. Tesla reports its own third-quarter results on Wednesday, October 21, where investors will likely ask about the committees again.

Would you vote your Tesla shares in favor of a SpaceX merger if the special committees bring one forward?