① On SpaceX's first day as a publicly listed company, President Gwynne Shotwell said a future merger with Tesla cannot be ruled out, as the two companies’ objectives are increasingly aligned; ② Wall Street remains divided on the prospect of a merger, with supporters optimistic about AI ecosystem integration and opponents concerned it could dilute SpaceX’s value.
Caixin News, June 12 (Editor: Xia Junxiong) — On Friday, June 12 (local time), $SpaceX (SPCX.US)$ President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell did not rule out the possibility of a future merger with $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ stating that the two companies, both led by Elon Musk, share an increasing number of common objectives.
SpaceX listed on Nasdaq on Friday through its initial public offering (IPO), raising $75 billion and achieving a valuation of $1.77 trillion, making it the largest IPO in U.S. history.
Shotwell said on Friday that SpaceX and Tesla are moving in the same direction.
“There is no doubt that Tesla and SpaceX will have synergies in the future,” she said. “The future goals we are striving to achieve are gradually converging.”
She half-jokingly suggested that merging the two companies “might make life a little easier for Musk,” while downplaying the likelihood of such a transaction happening in the near term.
Shotwell then outlined her current priorities, saying, “My focus right now is on keeping the company running smoothly—maintaining rocket production, executing launch missions, transporting astronauts to the International Space Station, and most importantly, providing broadband services to those without internet access.”
Speculation about a potential merger between SpaceX and Tesla intensified as SpaceX went public, after updated IPO filings revealed the company may issue a “significant amount of equity” for acquisition purposes in the future.
Shotwell also noted that mergers and acquisitions will become increasingly important as the artificial intelligence (AI) industry evolves.
“M&A will be part of our future trajectory, especially in the AI space,” she said.
The two companies have long been deeply intertwined.
In fact, as the two most prominent companies under Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX already maintain extensive business ties.
According to SpaceX’s prospectus, Tesla holds a stake in SpaceX, and the two companies are jointly developing a chip manufacturing project named Terafab.
Additionally, SpaceX purchased $131 million worth of Cybertruck electric pickup trucks in 2025.
Previous media reports indicated that since 2023, Tesla has sold approximately $890 million worth of vehicles and battery products to SpaceX and its subsidiary xAI.
Earlier this year, SpaceX completed the integration of Elon Musk’s AI company xAI, bringing the Grok chatbot and the social media platform X into its ecosystem.
Wall Street is divided on the prospects of a merger.
Wall Street is clearly divided over whether Tesla and SpaceX will ultimately merge.
Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, has been one of the most steadfast proponents. He believes that after SpaceX completes its IPO, there is an 80% to 90% probability the two companies will merge by 2027.
Ives describes this potential merger as the “holy grail” of Musk’s AI strategy, arguing it would enable Musk to gain greater control over a complete AI ecosystem—from data and computing power to applications.
He noted that the Terafab project, jointly developed by both parties, has already shown signs of an integration foundation gradually taking shape.
However, Oppenheimer holds the opposite view.
The firm believes that maintaining the two companies as independent entities better aligns with Elon Musk’s long-term AI strategy, as separate public listings would provide more diverse and flexible financing channels.
Nevertheless, Oppenheimer did not entirely rule out the possibility of a future transaction, but rather indicated that a merger is unlikely in the near term. In contrast, it sees greater potential for deeper collaboration between the two companies in areas such as energy storage, servers, and data center infrastructure.
Some investors also oppose the idea.
Well-known investor Steve Eisman expressed skepticism toward the merger.
He stated that he does not rule out the possibility of Elon Musk using SpaceX stock to acquire or merge with Tesla in the future, but added that if he were a SpaceX shareholder, he would not welcome such a deal.
“If I were a SpaceX shareholder, the last thing I’d want to see is him acquiring Tesla,” Eisman said.
Eisman believes that SpaceX has stronger growth potential, whereas Tesla operates in the highly competitive and capital-intensive electric vehicle industry; merging the two companies could instead drag down SpaceX’s valuation performance.
Editor/Rocky