[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong] Elon Musk (일론 머스크), CEO of Tesla, made comments that did not rule out the possibility of a merger between Tesla and SpaceX, drawing attention to the prospect of a tie-up between the companies. He drew a line by saying there is no official plan, but he directly mentioned that cooperation is expanding rapidly.

On July 23 (local time), EV news outlet Electrek reported that Musk said on Tesla’s 2026 second-quarter earnings call that there are "more and more overlapping areas" between Tesla and SpaceX. Asked about whether a merger was possible, he avoided a direct answer, saying such matters must go through "proper procedures."

The remarks came as Wells Fargo analyst Colin Rusch asked about possible synergy from combining the two companies. Musk said cooperation with SpaceX is under way in various areas and stressed that Terafab, a semiconductor production project, would be "a truly enormous project."

Tesla executives also said cooperation between the two companies has already expanded to a significant level. Brandon Erhardt (브랜던 에르하트), Tesla’s chief legal officer, said earlier this year that cooperation has been further strengthened through investments and framework agreements, and that joint development is continuing, centered on projects including Terafab and Digital Optimus.

Such a cooperation structure is also confirmed in SpaceX’s previously disclosed S-1 filing. According to the document, Tesla converted a $2 billion investment in xAI into about 18.99 million shares of SpaceX Class A common stock, securing less than a 1 percent stake in SpaceX. It also showed that SpaceX and xAI affiliates bought about $650 million worth of goods and services from Tesla in 2025.

Musk said he is also actively pursuing technology integration among the companies he leads. He said xAI’s artificial intelligence model Grok is already integrated into Tesla vehicles and is also being used to power the AI for the humanoid robot Optimus.

Starlink satellite internet service is also expanding integration with Tesla vehicles. Musk said Starlink is currently integrated into the Cybercab and will be expanded to all vehicles in regions where the service is available. He said satellite-based connectivity is needed for robotaxis to operate reliably in areas without mobile coverage.

He again stressed the importance of the Terafab project. Musk said that without the semiconductor production facility being jointly 추진 with SpaceX, there could be constraints on scaling up Optimus production. Vaibhav Taneja (바이바브 타네자), Tesla’s chief financial officer, also stressed the importance of securing stable connectivity, referring to a Cybercab test-ride program under way at the Austin plant.

The industry assesses that the remarks show that business integration between Tesla and SpaceX is deepening beyond simple cooperation. Musk did not formalise any merger plan, but he did not flatly deny the possibility and publicly stressed business structures linking the two companies, including investments and equity ties, joint development, and integration of AI and communications services.

In the market, attention is focused on whether the "proper procedures" mentioned by Musk will lead to actual merger talks or remain at the level of expanding the current strategic cooperation.