SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell Hints at Potential Tesla Merger Again
SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said in a CNBC interview that a merger with Tesla might make Elon Musk's life easier, while SpaceX has already added risk language about future equity issuance in its S-1 filing ahead of its IPO.
As SpaceX prepares for its historic initial public offering (IPO) – the largest in history – all eyes are on CEO Elon Musk. But another publicly traded company in Musk's universe, Tesla, could be on a collision course with SpaceX. Tesla, with a current market cap of about $1.26 trillion, has been pitched by Musk as an AI and robotics company, even though the bulk of its revenue still comes from electric vehicle sales. Some analysts see a merger as critical to realizing that vision.
SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell, in an interview with CNBC, indicated openness to the idea, saying a merger "might make Elon's life a little easier." There is also evidence that SpaceX is already preparing for such a deal. The company amended its S-1 registration document ahead of its public debut, adding new language to its risk factors section about mergers and acquisitions: "We may issue a significant amount of equity in connection with future transactions." This warning of potential dilution for investors would not be necessary for a small-scale acquisition; it likely points to a merger with Tesla.
Musk has a history of consolidating his portfolio. Earlier this year, SpaceX acquired Musk's AI company, xAI. And the year before, xAI acquired Musk's social media company, X, in an all-stock transaction.
