Could an ‘Elon Corp.’ Emerge? Tesla-SpaceX Merger Talk Builds After Flying Roadster Debut

Tesla, Elon Musk’s U.S. electric-vehicle maker, has reignited speculation about a merger with SpaceX after unveiling a sports car that hovers using the rocket company’s technology. The move is fueling views that Musk is seeking to accelerate vertical integration across his artificial-intelligence businesses by combining Tesla’s self-driving and robotics capabilities with SpaceX’s aerospace and propulsion technology.

CNBC reported on October 16 that Tesla unveiled its next-generation Roadster a day earlier at a SpaceX test facility in McGregor, Texas. The debut came about nine years after Musk first announced development plans in 2017.

The white Roadster shown at the event sped up a curved ramp and then drove upside down using an adhesion system. It then leaped into the air, rotated, hovered briefly and landed. The vehicle used technology developed by SpaceX, including thrusters, high-pressure vessels and powerful fans. Tesla said the car can accelerate from a standstill to 60 miles per hour in less than one second.

“When the world’s best car company and the world’s best rocket company work together, you’ll see what happens,” Musk said at the event.

The demonstration underscored technical cooperation between the two companies and reignited merger speculation. CNBC said the market price on U.S. prediction market Kalshi for a contract on whether Tesla and SpaceX will merge before March next year rose to 56% on the morning of October 16 from 29% on October 14. The figure does not represent an actual probability of a merger, but rather reflects traders’ expectations.

Wall Street has also begun raising the possibility. Dan Levy, an analyst at Barclays, floated the prospect of a merger in a report this week and said a plan could be announced before Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting, which must be held by December 6 at the latest.

Barclays said the main driver would be vertical integration across Musk’s AI businesses. The bank cited a potential combination of Tesla’s autonomous robotaxi and Optimus humanoid robot with the Grok AI model and an AI software project called Macrohard. It also said the semiconductor project Terrapab, involving Tesla, SpaceX and xAI, could become a key force behind any merger.

“There may be some financial synergies, but the real value would lie in vertical integration,” Levy said. Bill Birmingham, head of market research at Rex Financial, said Musk is weaving together the future of transportation by integrating automotive and rocket technology. In his view, that is helping plant in investors’ minds an engineering-efficiency case for a merger.

Gene Munster, a partner at venture firm Deepwater, wrote on X that the Roadster event was the latest example of why Musk is eager to combine Tesla and SpaceX. Major investment banks including Barclays have repeatedly raised the possibility that the two companies could announce a merger before Tesla’s regular shareholder meeting in December or sometime next year.

Still, no merger has been officially announced. Even if the companies move ahead, they would still face major hurdles including valuation, shareholder approval and regulatory review. The Roadster also remains some time away from commercialization. Musk said production will begin in 2028, but he did not disclose a sale price. Tesla has taken deposits since 2017 but has repeatedly missed launch targets. It also remains unclear whether the hovering function shown this time can be applied unchanged to mass-produced vehicles, or whether the car could legally operate on public roads.

Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer, said in a media interview in June, shortly after the company’s listing, that there was “no doubt” the two companies would have synergies and that a merger would “make Elon’s life a little easier.”

Musk also hinted at broader possibilities from collaboration between the two companies at the Roadster demonstration a day earlier, saying Tesla and SpaceX engineers had worked closely together to build something better than the James Bond car.

Kang Kyung-ju, Hankyung.com reporter memory@hankyung.com