6,493 Tesla Shareholders Press the Board to Fast-Track a SpaceX Merger

Credit: SpaceX

A group of Tesla retail shareholders is pressing the company’s board and the special committee weighing a SpaceX merger to get a deal done, and its organizers say 6,493 people holding more than 17.5 million shares signed on in less than 48 hours. The shareholder letter, signed by Tesla investors Alexandra Merz and Amy Steffens “on behalf of the attached shareholders,” asks the board to bring a combination to a vote “as soon as the terms are negotiated and documented.”

Steffens, who drafted the letter, posted the latest tally on Saturday evening, October 24: 6,493 signers representing 17,528,859 shares, which she valued at $6.5 billion. She said that would put the group among Tesla’s top 20 holders, ahead of Baron Funds, Ark and Barclays. No newer count had been posted as of Sunday morning. The figures are self-reported by signers through an online form and haven’t been independently verified.

Merz, who launched the letter on the morning of Friday, October 23, said today, Sunday, October 25, is the last day to sign. She wrote that organizers will close it “late afternoon to get it out of the door Monday morning,” which means the letter closes this afternoon and goes to the board on Monday, October 26. She has described it as “a petition to get it done, not a vote to approve it.”

The letter makes the case that the two companies fix each other’s problems. “Tesla needs chips and capital. SpaceX needs Megapacks for Colossus,” it says, pointing to joint projects such as Terafab and Digital Optimus. SpaceX has already bought US$480 million of Tesla Megapacks this year. The letter also argues that “Tesla shareholders lost the chance to own xAI” and adds, “We don’t want to lose out again.” It asks the committee to factor in the Cybercab and Optimus ramps, Tesla’s all-time high stock price and internal revenue projections when negotiating terms.

Signing requires a full name, home address and exact share count, which drew privacy questions from some shareholders on X. The letter says the information is collected under section 2.4(b) of Tesla’s bylaws, is marked confidential and is meant for the board and corporate secretary.

Musk said on SpaceX’s Q3 earnings call on October 20 that both companies formed special committees of independent directors “at the request of shareholders.” Asked whether he thinks a merger would be a good idea, he answered, “Yes,” while cautioning that a deal isn’t a certainty and that Tesla would need “a 50% vote of all shares,” which he called “quite a high hurdle.” Steffens has pointed to that bar too, noting that broker non-votes count against a deal and urging shareholders to sign up for Tesla’s retail auto-vote program.

Even at 17.5 million shares, the letter covers a small slice of Tesla’s more than 3 billion shares outstanding, and Tesla’s December 3 annual meeting has no merger vote on the ballot. Neither Tesla nor SpaceX has commented on the letter, and the committees haven’t announced any terms.

Would you sign a letter urging Tesla’s board to speed up a SpaceX merger?