[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] As discussion emerges around the possibility of a merger between Tesla and SpaceX, attention is also turning to how a tie-up could affect stock markets and bitcoin investment flows. The view is that a deal could lead not only to the birth of a giant listed company, but also to increased weightings in major stock indexes and inflows of passive funds.

On Oct. 22 (local time), Bitcoin Magazine, a blockchain media outlet, reported that a related programme focused on index-inclusion structures and the effects on fund inflows when discussing a potential combination of Tesla and SpaceX. It said claims aired on the programme about forming a special committee and reviewing a merger should be distinguished from facts confirmed by official announcements from the two companies.

The core of the discussion is that a combined company could take up a larger share in stock indexes, drawing more passive investment funds that track them. In a related video, Sean Hagan called the combination "a choice you don't even need to think about from first principles" and focused on the potential inflow effects that could come with a larger index weighting.

Passive investment is an approach that tracks the components and weightings of stock indexes such as the S&P 500. If a company's weight in an index increases, funds and exchange-traded funds that track the index may adjust their investment size to match that weighting. As a result, whether a company is included in an index and its weighting are seen as factors that affect not only share prices but also actual money flows.

The discussion also mentioned the relationship between index-tracking flows and funding and market assessments of companies that have incorporated bitcoin into treasury strategies. Hagan explained how passive flows affect bitcoin-treasury companies, linking it to an MSCI decision related to Strategy. The point was that even if a company holds bitcoin, how it is assessed in the market can vary depending on index inclusion criteria and the structure of investment inflows.

SpaceX's potential inclusion in the S&P 500 also emerged as a key issue. Programme hosts cited by the outlet asked whether a merger with Tesla could serve as a kind of workaround route for SpaceX to gain index inclusion. The question is whether, instead of SpaceX listing as an independent company or separately meeting index-inclusion requirements, a combined entity with Tesla could be reflected in an existing index.

Even if a merger happens, inclusion of the combined entity in the S&P 500 is not automatically guaranteed. Index inclusion is determined not only by company size but also by index rules and procedures related to profitability, liquidity and listing requirements. Depending on the merger structure and index calculation method, actual inclusion and the scale of passive inflows may differ.

The discussion also intersects with the investment environment surrounding bitcoin-treasury companies. Corporate strategies to hold bitcoin are influenced not only by cryptocurrency price volatility but also by stock-market investment demand and funding conditions. A high weighting in major indexes can raise expectations for passive inflows, but the actual effect varies depending on index inclusion and market conditions.

Ultimately, discussion around a possible combination of Tesla and SpaceX highlights how index inclusion and passive fund flows can affect market assessment, beyond the expansion of corporate scale itself. Still, because whether a merger review is under way and the specific transaction structure have not been officially confirmed, further verification is needed on whether it will lead to an actual combination or S&P 500 inclusion.