SpaceX reportedly mulling Tesla merger or tie-up with Elon Musk’s xAI firm | SpaceX
SpaceX is reportedly considering a possible merger with electric car maker Tesla, or a tie-up with artificial intelligence company xAI, as Elon Musk explores options to consolidate his global empire.
The rocket company is exploring the feasibility of a tie-up with Tesla or xAI ahead of a huge IPO, according to Reuters.
It emerged this week that the world’s richest person is considering an IPO that would value SpaceX at $1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) and would be timed for early summer to coincide with a planetary alignment and his birthday.
Musk will turn 55 on June 28, around the same time Jupiter and Venus appear near each other.
The multibillionaire’s plans for SpaceX potentially include installing data centers in space to perform complex calculations for AI models, which could benefit xAI if the plans become a reality.
Tesla’s ability to make energy storage systems could also prove useful to SpaceX, to use solar power in space to run data centers.
Musk also discussed using SpaceX’s Starship rockets to carry Tesla’s Optimus robots to the Moon, and ultimately Mars.
Two legal entities with the phrase “fusion sub” in their names were formed in Nevada on January 21, with Bret Johnsen, SpaceX’s chief financial officer, named among the executives.
On Wednesday, Musk announced that Tesla would stop production of its Model
The Model S and X factory in Fremont, California, would be converted to produce Tesla’s next Optimus robot, Musk said.
The company’s latest quarterly earnings report showed falling vehicle sales and falling revenue as Musk pinned Tesla’s future on AI and robotics.
The earnings report describes Tesla’s chaotic year as a “transition from a hardware-centric company to a physical AI company.”
Shares of the automaker climbed as much as 4.5% in after-hours trading Thursday, after falling 3.5% during after-hours trading, valuing the company at about $1.56 trillion.
SpaceX’s potential IPO could seek to raise as much as $50 billion, making it the largest IPO of all time.
Musk is SpaceX’s largest shareholder with a 42% stake, but he controls nearly 79% of the voting shares.
Other backers include employees and private investors, who own about 30%, Founders Fund, which controls 10.4%, Fidelity Investments with 10.2% and Google Ventures with 7.4%.
In December, SpaceX’s Johnsen told employees that a possible IPO would help fuel an “insane flight pace” for development of the Starship rocket and a potential base on the moon.
Donald Trump has said he wants to see a base on the Moon before he finishes his second term in January 2029.
