Elon Musk said on Tuesday (October 20) that he sees "a lot of merit" in combining Tesla and SpaceX, but the decision is not his to make: two special committees he cannot join and a Tesla shareholder vote he calls a high hurdle stand in the way.

That tension runs through a deal that many analysts call inevitable. Musk, a self-described 'conflicted party', said the committees are yet to agree on the terms and a merger is not certain, even though Wall Street expects a deal by the end of next year.

Shares of SpaceX were up 9%, while Tesla gained 1% in premarket trading.

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Elon Musk sees 'a lot of merit' in Tesla-SpaceX merger but not his decision

VIDEO SHOWS: TESLA AND SPACEX CEO, ELON MUSK, DISCUSSING POSSIBLE MERGER OF TESLA AND SPACEX

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: 1. (00:00:00:00) SLATE

BASTROP, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 20 2026) (SPACEX - For editorial use only. No resales)

2. (00:00:05:00) TESLA AND SPACEX CEO, ELON MUSK, SITTING DOWN WITH COLLEAGUES

3. (00:00:11:12) (SOUNDBITE) (English) TESLA AND SPACEX CEO, ELON MUSK, SAYING:

"So both SpaceX and Tesla have formed special committees to discuss this idea at the request of shareholders, and these special committees consist of independent directors and because I'm a conflicted party I can't actually be in the discussions of the special committees. So it's this sort of an odd kabuki dance where two groups of people are talking and I can't be in the conversation."

4. (00:00:46:06) MUSK SPEAKING WITH COLLEAGUES

5. (00:00:52:17) (SOUNDBITE) (English) TESLA AND SPACEX CEO, ELON MUSK, SAYING:

"I think some people out there assume that a SpaceX and Tesla merger is a certainty, and I think that would be overstating it. The, you know, do I think it would be a good idea? Yes, but at the end of the day the shareholders have to be supportive of this and particularly on the Tesla side, we will need a 50% vote of all shares, not just those who vote, but of all shareholders. And that's quite a high hurdle to try to achieve."

6. (00:01:27:09) MUSK SITTING WITH COLLEAGUES

7. (00:01:33:09) (SOUNDBITE) (English) TESLA AND SPACEX CEO, ELON MUSK, SAYING:

"And I can just say that, at this point, the special committees have not reached agreement on the terms of any transaction, and obviously there's no guarantee that they will. But I do think there's a lot of merit to combining the companies as we are pretty much in the super intelligence singularity."

8. (00:01:55:17) MUSK LISTENING TO COLLEAGUE SPEAKING