Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is encouraging shareholders to consider a merger of his two companies, saying that consolidating the two trillion-dollar businesses would be beneficial as they move into the future of artificial intelligence.
“I do think there’s a lot of merit to combining companies as we are pretty much in the superintelligence singularity,” Musk said on a SpaceX earnings call.
A merger would combine Tesla, which is more focused on electric vehicles and robotics, and SpaceX, which is more focused on rocket building, space exploration, and the satellite connectivity system Starlink. SpaceX also owns Musk’s AI platform, xAI.
“There’s a lot to be gained from cooperating on developing superintelligence software, chip design, the Terafab obviously, the robotics, mass-to-orbit with the Starmind constellation, connectivity,” the technology mogul said. “So I think it would be a good idea.”
Musk was referencing several connectivity points his two companies already have planned, including Terafab, a planned chip manufacturing center shared between Tesla and SpaceX, along with xAI and SpaceX’s planned Starmind AI data center, which is set to be based in space.
Musk said on the call that each of the companies has formed special committees, requested by shareholders, with independent directors, while Musk himself is absent from those committees for conflict-of-interest reasons. He told the call attendees that it’s an “odd kabuki dance” where he cannot participate in the committee communications, adding that the merger conversation is a bit like “tap dancing through a minefield.”
However, he did note that the merger is not yet a certainty.
“Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes,” Musk said. “But at the end of the day, the shareholders have to be supportive of this, and particularly on the Tesla side, we will need a 50% vote of all shares, not just those who vote, but of all shareholders. And that’s quite a high hurdle to try to achieve.”
THANKS TO TRUMP ACCOUNTS TWEAK, MUSK CAN GIVE EVERY CHILD SPACEX SHARES EVEN IF PARENTS OBJECT
Musk became the world’s first trillionaire over the summer after SpaceX’s initial public offering.
The merger would give Musk more shareholder control over Tesla, a company in which he has 20% of shareholder votes, according to the New York Times. He has over 80% of the shareholder votes at SpaceX.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
