Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and SpaceX (SPCX) edged higher in overnight trading heading into Tuesday after Elon Musk declined to rule out a merger between the two companies at the All-In Summit.
When asked why Tesla and SpaceX remain separate despite their deepening operational ties, Musk described the question as a “great question” and offered a deliberately open-ended response.
“With all this collaboration, on so many levels, who can imagine what action one might take when there’s so much close collaboration in so many areas,” Musk said, stopping well short of dismissing the idea.
Both stocks had declined roughly 2% on Monday before recovering, with TSLA edging up 0.2% and SPCX gaining 0.1% in overnight trading.
The merger debate first gained traction among prominent retail investors who began modeling possible ownership structures, exchange ratios, and valuations before eventually drawing the attention of major Wall Street banks.
Jefferies said it sees strategic logic in combining the two companies, estimating that Musk could retain approximately 55.3% voting control under a deal completed without a merger premium, potentially leaving room for Tesla shareholders to receive one.
JPMorgan separately called a combination “strategically coherent on paper,” citing potential integration across artificial intelligence, robotics, energy, transportation, and space as key areas of overlap.
Tesla and SpaceX remain legally distinct entities, but their operations are growing closer, with Tesla contributing battery technology, power systems, manufacturing expertise, and artificial intelligence, while SpaceX brings launch capacity, Starlink connectivity, satellite infrastructure, and large-scale engineering experience.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, also speaking at the All-In Summit, said SpaceX personnel had moved into xAI to fill leadership and engineering gaps, adding that the businesses were integrating “faster than I thought,” though they were “not fully integrated yet.”
Shotwell also pointed to collaboration spanning artificial intelligence, compute, and solar-panel production, while SpaceX has announced plans to launch AI-computing satellites as the companies deepen ties across chips, energy, data centers, and manufacturing.
Tesla recently announced an October 1 unveiling for its next-generation Roadster using the phrase “Go for launch,” a deliberate nod to SpaceX’s rocket missions that further stoked merger speculation among investors.
The Roadster was first unveiled in November 2017 and has faced years of delays, with Musk previously discussing ambitious performance targets including possible rocket-assisted features for the vehicle.
On Stocktwits, sentiment toward TSLA was rated “extremely bearish” and sentiment toward SPCX was rated “bearish,” with both stocks registering “normal” message volume from retail traders.
Over the past year, TSLA has fallen 9% and SPCX has declined 8%, underscoring the headwinds both companies face even as merger speculation continues to generate fresh interest from investors on both sides of Wall Street.
