Peter Diamandis, an early backer of SpaceX and founder of the XPrize Foundation, said a merger of Elon Musk's SpaceX and Tesla Inc. is inevitable and reflects a choice of timing rather than of possibility.
Speaking on Bloomberg Television Wednesday, Diamandis framed the potential combination as a corporate alignment that would restore to Musk the super voting authority he exercises at SpaceX but does not possess at Tesla, which is publicly traded. The investor noted that prior to SpaceX's filing for an initial public offering, Musk held 85.1% control of the company.
"I put it not as a matter of if but only a matter of when those companies come together," Diamandis said.
Diamandis expanded on the rationale for bringing the companies together, arguing it would permit Musk to "operate across all of this infrastructure." He cited the prospect of integrating a fleet of Cybercab robotaxis with Tesla vehicles that carry substantial compute and power capability, which he described as part of building "a global infrastructure on the ground and in space."
The investor said he has been in contact with Musk this year and recounted conversations in both January and March. Media reporting earlier in the year said Musk held talks about a transaction along these lines before SpaceX's combination with xAI, and a separate report published Tuesday said that employees at both firms have routinely and openly discussed the idea internally.
Diamandis first invested in SpaceX in the late 2000s and has since founded or backed several companies. He is also a podcast host and used his Bloomberg interview to reiterate his view that a merger is a question of timing, not feasibility.
Observers following the interactions between the two companies may weigh governance, operational integration and internal sentiment as relevant considerations. Diamandis focused on the governance angle - the ability to consolidate voting control - and on the potential to link space-based capabilities with ground transportation assets. Beyond that, the public discussion of such a tie-up inside both companies, as reported by media outlets, suggests the topic has circulated beyond private boardroom conversations.