Elon Musk just gave the clearest sign yet that his two biggest companies might one day become one.
On Oct. 20, 2026, during SpaceX's third-quarter earnings call, Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla and SpaceX have formed special committees of independent directors to explore a possible merger. Musk said the committees were created at shareholders' request and have not agreed on any terms, stressing that a deal is not guaranteed.
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Musk Confirms Tesla SpaceX Merger Discussions Are Real
Musk told analysts on the call that combining Tesla and SpaceX would be a good idea, but he made clear the final call does not belong to him. He said both boards had separately set up special committees made up only of independent directors, a structure meant to keep the process fair and free from his personal influence. These committees are now the ones reviewing whether a Tesla SpaceX merger makes sense at all.
According to Musk, the committees have not reached agreement on the terms of any transaction, and there is no guarantee they ever will. He pushed back against the idea that a merger was already decided, calling that assumption overstated. Reuters reported that SpaceX shares still jumped 4.9% in extended trading right after Musk's comments, showing investors took the news seriously even without a finished deal.
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Why Musk Says He Cannot Join the Merger Talks
Musk explained he is boxed out of the actual negotiations because he runs both companies and holds major stakes in each. He described himself as a conflicted party, meaning his personal financial interest in both firms makes it legally awkward for him to help decide the terms of any Tesla SpaceX merger. Instead, that job falls entirely to the independent directors sitting on each special committee.
This setup is designed to protect smaller shareholders. If Musk negotiated the deal himself, critics could argue he was steering the outcome to benefit himself rather than regular investors. By stepping back, Musk is letting outside directors control the pace, structure, and price of any potential combination, at least on paper. He said plainly, "Because I'm a conflicted party, I can't actually be in the discussion of the special committees."
The Tesla Shareholder Vote Hurdle Nobody Can Ignore
Even if the committees eventually agree on terms, the path forward is not simple. Musk pointed out that any Tesla SpaceX merger would need approval from 50% of all Tesla shares outstanding, not just 50% of the shares that show up and vote at a meeting. He called that a quite high hurdle, and it's easy to see why. Getting a majority of every single share to formally back a merger is a much tougher bar than winning a simple vote among active participants.
That detail alone tells investors this process could drag on for months, even if talks go smoothly. Tesla and SpaceX operate in completely different industries, with different regulators, different investor bases, and very different risk profiles. Folding a rocket and satellite company into an automaker, or vice versa, is not something that happens with a quick handshake. Lawyers, bankers, and regulators would all need to sign off before shareholders even get a ballot.
Why This Deal Keeps Coming Up Around Musk's Companies
Talk of merging Tesla and SpaceX has floated around for years, mostly because Musk leads both and often talks about connecting their technology. On the call, Musk pointed to what he called significant advantages from combining software and semiconductor work across the two companies. He also brought up artificial intelligence, suggesting collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX could matter more as AI moves closer to what he called the singularity of superintelligence.
The timing is not random either. SpaceX only became a publicly traded company after its initial public offering in July 2026. That IPO raised the stakes for any merger conversation, since SpaceX now has its own public shareholders, disclosure rules, and board obligations separate from Tesla's. Before the IPO, this kind of formal special committee process involving outside directors and shareholder votes simply would not have applied the same way.
What Investors and Reporters Are Watching Next
News outlets including CNBC, NBC News, CNN, Reuters, BBC, and TechCrunch all covered Musk's comments the same day, and each one stressed the same point: this is a preliminary step, not a finished deal. There is no agreed valuation, no exchange ratio, no closing date, and no confirmed list of who sits on either special committee. Bloomberg Law noted that if this merger ever does happen, it would rank among the largest corporate combinations ever attempted.
For now, the real action sits with those independent directors. They will need to study the numbers, hire their own advisers, and decide whether combining Tesla and SpaceX actually benefits shareholders of both companies. Only after that work is done would the companies be in a position to announce real terms, and then put the question to a shareholder vote that Musk himself admits faces a genuinely high bar to clear.
