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SpaceX said Thursday its potential merger with Tesla will require controlling investor Elon Musk’s approval, even though the entrepreneur has recused himself from talks between his two companies because of conflicts of interest.
Musk, the world’s richest person, said on Tuesday a merger of SpaceX and Tesla would be “a good idea” and that they had formed special committees to discuss a union.
In a regulatory filing on Thursday, SpaceX said, “No determination by our special committee has been made regarding any potential combination, and any potential combination would be subject to further approval by our special committee, our board of directors and our controlling shareholder.”
Several Wall Street analysts have said they see a Tesla-SpaceX merger as a matter of when, not if, but disagree on how much Tesla shareholders should receive in a deal.
Musk’s public endorsement this week of the potential $3.5 trillion merger has also rattled some insiders involved in the discussions, who worry his comments could invite shareholder scrutiny and delay the process by several weeks, Reuters reported earlier on Thursday.
Musk owns nearly a fifth of Tesla and holds voting control at SpaceX. Analysts have said a merger would give him control of the combined entity and could consolidate his influence.
The disclosure created a “mess” for the process, as it could lead to questions about how well Tesla shareholders’ interests would be represented, a person with direct knowledge of the talks told Reuters.
Bringing the companies together could also simplify decision-making, as multiple companies require approvals from separate boards and shareholders. The potential merger could give management the flexibility to allocate capital, engineering talent and infrastructure toward more promising projects as firms aggressively push into AI.
Tesla on Wednesday cut its annual capital expenditure forecast to roughly $20 billion, down from its previous forecast of more than $25 billion. SpaceX expects $35 billion to $40 billion in capital expenditure in the fourth quarter.
SpaceX is a major contractor for the US military, intelligence agencies and NASA. Tesla, meanwhile, remains deeply tied to China through its Shanghai factory, which plays a major role in vehicle production and sales. Shares of SpaceX rose about 1%, while those of Tesla fell marginally in extended trading.