SpaceX and Tesla Talks on Record Merger Are Said to Progress A Tesla Cybertruck faces the SpaceX Starship as it sits on a launch pad at Starbase near Boca Chica, Texas. · Bloomberg · Photographer: Sergio Flores/AFP/Getty Images Ryan Gould, Siddharth Philip and Dinesh Nair Thu, November 12, 2026 at 3:22 PM EST 3 min read SPCX +0.32% TSLA +1.70% Explore stocks on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
(Bloomberg) -- SpaceX and Tesla Inc. are progressing in their merger negotiations, setting the stage for a combination that could redefine the limits of global dealmaking.
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Elon Musk's two largest companies could announce what would be the biggest-ever deal as soon as in December, according to people familiar with the matter. That aggressive timeline reflects Musk's tendency to move quickly when it comes to corporate maneuvers.
The companies have also discussed a scenario in which an announcement slips into early 2027, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the discussions are private. Their boards and advisers are hammering out the terms of the tie-up and governance structure of the combined entity, among other matters, the people said.
Representatives for Tesla and SpaceX didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Tesla shares jumped to a session high, rising as much as 1.9%, while SpaceX stock gained 0.5% as of 3:20 p.m. Thursday in New York.
The merger would be a blockbuster for Wall Street's dealmakers, creating a conglomerate housing electric vehicles, energy storage batteries, rockets and satellites. The rationale for bringing all those assets under one roof lies in a shared ambition to leverage artificial intelligence across space, driverless cars and humanoid robots.
But both companies will have to grapple with obstacles before they can close a transaction, including how to ring-fence Tesla's operations in China, according to the people.
National security sensitivities around SpaceX's US government and defense contracts, and Tesla's large, profitable China manufacturing footprint, loom as "key dynamics that are at odds with each other" when it comes to getting regulatory and shareholder approvals for a deal, JPMorgan analyst Rajat Gupta told clients in a research note last month.
The merger would be a major test case for political sentiment following the US midterm elections. Democrats, which took control of Congress, have pledged to probe Musk's business and political dealings.
Musk in October said the boards of the companies had formed special committees of independent board directors to consider combining.
SpaceX has a market value of more than $1.9 trillion following its initial public offering, while Tesla is worth about $1.5 trillion. Tesla is slated to host its annual shareholder meeting on Dec. 3.
Bloomberg News had reported that SpaceX and Tesla were pushing to announce a deal by the first half of next year, with the aim of closing the merger before the end of President Donald Trump's term. One of the factors being discussed is the number of shares SpaceX will have to offer Tesla investors in the transaction.
SpaceX and Tesla already have business ties, including a joint effort to build a semiconductor plant in Texas called Terafab. The companies also increasingly have been laying the groundwork for joint operations.
SpaceX, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and based in Starbase, Texas, went public in June in a landmark listing in New York that made Musk the world's first trillionaire.
The company has transformed in recent years from a leading rocket manufacturer and launch provider into a crucial supplier of AI infrastructure to companies including Anthropic PBC as well as a top provider of internet beamed down from space.
--With assistance from Loren Grush and Kara Carlson.
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