Musk mulled combining Tesla and SpaceX - report

Investing.com -- Elon Musk has discussed with colleagues the possibility of combining SpaceX with Tesla, according to a CNBC report on Tuesday.

The two companies already share resources and personnel. Many workers at the EV maker have reportedly long anticipated a potential deal, and the topic is being openly discussed internally. Shared challenges, particularly related to power and compute constraints, have led to close collaborations between Musk’s firms.

More than three-quarters of SpaceX’s $10.1 billion in capital expenditures in the first quarter were tied to AI. Tesla said in its latest earnings report that capital expenditures will roughly triple this year, topping $25 billion.

Musk sits on both boards, as does his brother Kimbal and venture capitalist Ira Ehrenpreis. SpaceX board members Antonio Gracias and Steve Jurvetson previously served on Tesla’s board. Charles Kuehmann serves as vice president of materials engineering for both Tesla and SpaceX.

Musk’s companies have a long history of transcating with each other: this January, Tesla said it had invested $2 billion in xAI. Those shares became holdings in SpaceX following that company’s merger with xAI the following month.

SpaceX said in its prospectus that it bought $697 million worth of Tesla’s Megapack battery energy storage systems in 2024 and 2025 to power data centers owned and operated by xAI near the company’s Colossus facilities in Memphis, Tennessee. SpaceX also spent $131 million on Tesla Cybertrucks in 2025, purchased at full MSRP.

Prior deals also included Tesla selling solar equipment and car parts to SpaceX, Tesla using SpaceX private jets, and Tesla using SpaceX to develop a special alloy for its Cybertruck.

SpaceX has linked Musk’s compensation rewards to two milestones: achieving a $7.5 trillion market cap and colonizing Mars with at least 1 million inhabitants. Tesla shareholders approved a pay plan late last year that consists of 12 tranches, with each payout tied to market cap gains and operational achievements.

Tesla shares traded slightly higher in after-hours trading on Tuesday following the report. Musk is set to kick off SpaceX’s roadshow next week.

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