WSJ Reports Musk Plans to Merge SpaceX and Tesla Around AI
The Wall Street Journal reports that Musk wants to merge the $2 trillion rocket company SpaceX with the $1.5 trillion automaker Tesla around AI. SpaceX's AI business has become its largest business, with third-quarter revenue of $7.56 billion, up from $813 million in the same period last year; of the quarter's $19.6 billion in capital expenditure, more than $16.4 billion went to AI. This growth turned SpaceX's $1.05 billion loss in the quarter into a $4.4 billion profit, giving it the financial scale to absorb Tesla. The AI logic behind the merger is to use Tesla's robotaxi and Optimus robots as the front end, with SpaceX's data centers and satellite links as the infrastructure they depend on.
Body
WSJ: Musk wants to combine a $2T rocket company with a $1.5T carmaker around AI.
SpaceX’s AI unit is now its largest business, with third-quarter revenue of $7.56B against $813M a year earlier, and more than $16.4B of its $19.6B quarterly capital spending went to AI.
That growth turned SpaceX to a $4.4B quarterly profit from a $1.05B loss, giving it the financial weight to absorb Tesla rather than the reverse.
The AI case for the merger treats Tesla’s robotaxis and Optimus robots as the front end and SpaceX’s data centers and satellite links as the infrastructure they would depend on.