Musk revives Tesla-SpaceX merger talk after mixed Tesla quarter
What's new: any deal would need backing from half of Tesla shareholders, a hurdle Musk called high, as SpaceX rose 8% after hours.
Elon Musk reopened debate over a possible merger of Tesla and SpaceX after Tesla posted third-quarter sales of $28.05 billion, down slightly from $28.1 billion a year earlier. On Tesla’s earnings call, Musk declined to go beyond earlier remarks but indicated the tie-up could make sense because the companies overlap in chips, artificial intelligence and other technologies. A merger would combine Tesla’s cars, robots and self-driving systems with SpaceX’s rockets, satellites, data centers and telecom operations. Any transaction would still require support from half of Tesla shareholders, a bar Musk described as difficult to clear. After-hours trading reflected investor interest, with SpaceX shares up 8% and Tesla up 2%.