SpaceX and Tesla have formed committees to discuss potential merger, Musk says

Adam Gray/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Elon Musk, the CEO of both SpaceX and Tesla, voiced support for merging the two companies during an earnings call Tuesday, though he said it is ultimately up to special shareholder committees from each company.

Asked about the long-rumored merger, Musk replied, “this is definitely kind of a question where I feel like I’m tap dancing through a minefield… but I do think there’s a lot of merit to combining the companies.”

The comments appeared to be the most forceful Musk has made publicly. When asked about the potential deal following SpaceX’s blockbuster July IPO, Musk didn’t offer an opinion one way or another, saying “obviously… we can’t talk about combining companies and that kind of thing on an earnings call. It’s got to be done with the appropriate process.”

Musk on Tuesday was careful to manage investors’ expectations about any potential merger. As a “conflicted party,” he said, he cannot be a part of the discussions, noting the decision would be up to shareholders. Historically, Tesla shareholders have broadly fallen in line with Musk’s wishes, however.

SpaceX shares rose nearly 5% in late trading, following its third-quarter earnings report that blew past Wall Street’s expectations. Tesla shares rose a little over 1%.

The rocket, satellite internet, social media and AI company brought in net income of $4.4 billion in the most recent quarter, swinging to a profit after back-to-back quarters of losses this year.

In its second earnings report since going public, SpaceX said it brought in $14.6 billion — up 161% year-over-year, according to the company, driven by what it called its “Super Intelligence” segment and its Starlink satellite-internet business.

Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The big questions about who’s to blame for Starshield disruptions in Ukraine

Wall Street analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected net income of $1.57 billion, with revenue of $12.9 billion. SpaceX reported earnings per share of 35 cents Tuesday, versus 14 cents forecast by analysts.

Moments before the earnings call Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal published a report saying that Musk “ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink” that blindsided Ukrainian officials.

Musk during the call did not address the Journal report, which cited unnamed people familiar with the matter. CNN couldn’t immediately verify the veracity of the report.

SpaceX, which didn’t immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment, blew past Wall Street’s financial expectations for the third quarter, reporting net income of $4.4 billion after back-to-back quarters of losses.

Ukraine accused SpaceX last week of severely hindering its defense by suddenly limiting its Starlink internet service, which uses satellites in low orbit. Ukraine has used Starlink and a related military-grade service, Starshield , to communicate quickly and to both launch and prevent drone attacks.

While Musk repeatedly suggested the White House was to blame for the disruption, the Trump administration has denied responsibility. On X, Musk emphasized that Starshield was “owned and controlled by the US government” and that “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.”

Adam Gray/Bloomberg/Getty Images

SpaceX 和特斯拉的首席执行官埃隆·马斯克在周二的财报电话会议上表示支持两家公司合并，但他表示，最终决定权在于两家公司的特别股东委员会。

当被问及传闻已久的合并案时，马斯克回答说：“这绝对是一个让我感觉像是在雷区里跳踢踏舞的问题……但我确实认为两家公司合并有很多好处。”

这些评论似乎是马斯克迄今为止公开发表的最强硬的言论。在SpaceX 7月份轰动一时的IPO之后，当被问及潜在的交易时，马斯克没有给出明确的立场，只是说：“显然……我们不能在财报电话会议上谈论公司合并之类的事情。这必须通过适当的程序来完成。”

周二，马斯克谨慎地安抚了投资者对潜在合并案的预期。他表示，作为“利益冲突方”，他无法参与讨论，并指出最终决定权在于股东。然而，从历史来看，特斯拉股东的意愿总体上都与马斯克一致。

SpaceX股价在尾盘交易中上涨近5%，此前该公司发布的第三季度财报远超华尔街预期。特斯拉股价上涨略高于1%。

这家火箭、卫星互联网、社交媒体和人工智能公司在最近一个季度实现了 44 亿美元的净收入，在经历了今年连续两个季度的亏损后，终于扭亏为盈。

SpaceX 在上市后的第二份盈利报告中表示，其收入为 146 亿美元，同比增长 161%。该公司称，这主要得益于其所谓的“超级智能”部门和星链卫星互联网业务。

德米特罗·斯莫连科/Ukrinform/NurPhoto/Getty Images

关于谁该为乌克兰星盾网络中断负责，存在着一些重大问题。

FactSet调查的华尔街分析师此前预计SpaceX净利润为15.7亿美元，营收为129亿美元。SpaceX周二公布的每股收益为35美分，高于分析师预测的14美分。

就在周二财报电话会议召开前不久，《华尔街日报》发表了一篇报道，称马斯克“下令放缓军用版星链的建设速度”，这让乌克兰官员措手不及。

马斯克在通话中并未提及《华尔街日报》的报道，该报道援引了知情人士的匿名消息。CNN目前尚无法核实该报道的真实性。

SpaceX公司尚未立即回应CNN的置评请求。该公司第三季度业绩远超华尔街预期，净利润达44亿美元，此前该公司连续两个季度亏损。

乌克兰上周指责SpaceX公司突然限制其星链互联网服务，严重阻碍了其国防。星链服务利用低轨道卫星运行。乌克兰一直使用星链及其相关的军用级服务星盾（Starshield）进行快速通信，并用于发起和阻止无人机袭击。

尽管马斯克一再暗示白宫应为此次事件负责，但特朗普政府否认对此负有责任。在X平台上，马斯克强调Starshield“由美国政府拥有和控制”，并且“任何速度或使用限制都由美国军方决定，最终由美国总统决定”。