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Tesla Shares in Focus as Musk Says SpaceX Merger Is Not a Certainty

Elon Musk said independent-director committees at SpaceX and Tesla are weighing a merger, but no terms are agreed and Tesla would need approval from a majority of all its shares.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), the electric-vehicle maker, faces its first market test after Elon Musk said independent-director committees at Tesla and SpaceX are weighing a merger. Musk spoke on SpaceX’s third-quarter earnings call, after the US close on Tuesday.

Tesla closed yesterday at $373.71, up 1.54% from $368.06, but that session ended before Musk spoke, so it is not the reaction. The shares sit between their 50-day average of 359.46 and 200-day average of 387.99.

For UK traders, the dollar-priced Nasdaq stock gives its first regular-session response at the US open at 2.30pm London time. Tesla’s own third-quarter results are due after the close today, so any move may reflect both.

TSLA.US

Musk said the special committees were formed at shareholders’ request. SpaceX listed on Nasdaq in June. He named AI software, chip design, robotics, connectivity and the Terafab chip plant as areas of cooperation.

He also stressed the limits.

some people out there assume that a SpaceX and Tesla merger is a certainty, and I think that would be overstating it.

Elon Musk

Musk said he cannot take part in the committees’ discussions because he is a conflicted party. The committees have agreed no terms, and there is no price, ratio or structure. Neither company has filed anything confirming the committees, and Tesla’s annual proxy statement, filed on Monday, contains no merger proposal. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The main hurdle is the vote. A deal would need a majority of all outstanding Tesla shares, not just those cast, which Musk called quite a high hurdle. Musk’s Tesla stake is about 20%. He holds more than 82% of SpaceX’s voting power.

Line chart of Tesla's daily closing share price from July to October 2026, showing a fall after Q2 results and a recovery to $373.71
Tesla daily close, 15 July to 20 October 2026, USD. The merger remarks came after the last close shown.

Scale is the other question. Tesla’s market value is about $1.45tn. At Tuesday’s closes, Fortune calculated, a combined company would be worth about $3.5tn, with SpaceX at about $2tn, and Musk would own roughly a third. It would be the largest merger ever.

Tesla’s results today follow a weak second quarter, reported on the 22nd of July, when earnings per share came in at 0.33 against an estimate of 0.54.

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The AskTraders Analyst Team features experts in technical and fundamental analysis, as well as traders specializing in stocks, forex, and cryptocurrency.

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