Barclays suggests Tesla and SpaceX could announce a merger before December, according to Bloomberg. Musk has not ruled out a combination, but neither company has confirmed talks, and regulatory and governance hurdles remain.
Barclays has suggested that Tesla and SpaceX could announce a merger before December, according to a Bloomberg report. Further detail from the Barclays note, including its reasoning and any proposed deal terms, was not immediately available.
Musk keeps the idea open
Musk declined to rule out a combination on Tesla's July earnings call, pointing to the companies' growing overlap. However, he said any such move would have to go through the appropriate process rather than be discussed on an earnings call.
The two companies already work together. Tesla supplies batteries and manufacturing technology to some SpaceX projects, and they are jointly developing Terafab, a plant designed to produce AI chips.
SpaceX's market debut fuels the speculation
The call follows SpaceX's arrival on public markets. The rocket maker began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX on 12 June after pricing its shares at $135. The listing raised around $75 billion, the largest initial public offering on record, and valued SpaceX at close to $1.8 trillion.
In February, SpaceX absorbed xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence company, in a deal valuing the combined group at about $1.25 trillion.
Regulators and shareholders pose obstacles
Other analysts have also leaned towards a deal. JPMorgan said in July that operational integration was already deep, citing shared engineering talent and AI infrastructure. Stifel said many investors regarded a combination as a question of timing rather than whether it would happen.
Significant obstacles remain, though. JPMorgan flagged regulatory approvals as a practical bottleneck, particularly in China, where SpaceX's ties to the US government could raise national security concerns for a merged group selling cars there. Governance is another sticking point: Musk holds a much larger voting stake in SpaceX than in Tesla, which raises questions over how Tesla's public shareholders would be treated.
Until either company confirms talks, the Barclays view remains a forecast rather than a deal in progress.
Source: Investinglive
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