Story perspectives

Tesla and SpaceX Form Merger Committees as Musk Recuses

By Drooid · Oct 21, 2026, 10:41 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Musk Recuses

Tesla and SpaceX each created independent director committees to evaluate a potential merger.
Elon Musk recused himself from both committees as a conflicted party.
SpaceX shares rose about 8-9% while Tesla shares increased roughly 1-2% after the news.
Musk said the merger requires approval of at least 50% of all Tesla shares.
Analysts expect a formal announcement by Tesla’s Dec. 3 shareholder meeting.

Summary

SpaceX Posts Profit

SpaceX posted its first profit as a public company, reporting $4.4 billion net income in Q3.
AI revenue reached $7.56 billion, about 52% of Q3 sales, up from $2.56 billion in Q2.
Q3 capital spending totaled $19.6 billion, with $16.4 billion earmarked for AI infrastructure.
CFO Bret Johnsen projected $35 billion to $40 billion capex for the fourth quarter.
Starlink subscribers rose to 13.6 million while average revenue per user fell from $99 to $69.

History

Historical Context

When AOL announced its $180 billion merger with Time Warner on Jan 10 2000—giving AOL shareholders a 55% stake—the deal soon produced a $99 billion loss in 2003, underscoring governance perils of oversized tech-media unions. That legacy informs today’s Elon Musk, who has recused himself and created independent director committees for Tesla and SpaceX to avoid similar conflicts.

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Musk Recuses

Tesla and SpaceX each created independent director committees to evaluate a potential merger.
Elon Musk recused himself from both committees as a conflicted party.
SpaceX shares rose about 8-9% while Tesla shares increased roughly 1-2% after the news.
Musk said the merger requires approval of at least 50% of all Tesla shares.
Analysts expect a formal announcement by Tesla’s Dec. 3 shareholder meeting.

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