Musk: SpaceX, Tesla merger a ‘good idea’

Elon Musk said Tuesday that his two companies, SpaceX and Tesla, have formed independent special committees to discuss the potential merger, calling it “a good idea.”

“I think it would be a good ​idea, but it’s really up to the special committees of both companies,” Musk told investors on a conference call, according to a Reuters report . “Because I’m a conflicted party, I can’t actually be in ​the discussions of the special committees.”

Musk said the special committees were established by both companies at the request of shareholders, ⁠who would ultimately need to approve a deal. He added the committees had not agreed on transaction terms and may never do so, Reuters reported.

He added there is “a lot of merit” to combining the two companies, “as we are pretty much in the superintelligence singularity, and there’s a lot to be gained from ​cooperating on developing superintelligence software, chip design, the Terafab obviously, robotics, mass-to-orbit with the Starmind constellation, connectivity.”

Musk said in the call that the chip manufacturing joint venture, Terafab, should produce its first test chip sometime around May or June and aims to reach volume production.

SpaceX shares went up by more than 8 percent and Tesla shares rose more than 2 percent Wednesday morning following the reports of the possible merger, according to CNN .

Musk has been in the headlines after Ukraine’s military faced restricted access to Starshield, the military version of Starlink, earlier this month .

The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk ordered the slowdown, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter, prompting calls for an investigation from several Democrats.

Musk initially claimed in a post to the social platform X that only President Trump had the ability to order the slowdown, adding that while Starlink is under Musk’s SpaceX, Starshield is owned and operated by the U.S. government.

The disruption impacted the capabilities of Ukraine’s drones, airplanes and helicopters.