- Dan Ives says a Tesla-SpaceX merger is 90% likely at $500-$550 per share, calling it “close to inevitable.”
- Ives views Tesla as transitioning from an EV maker into one of the biggest AI players, citing Optimus robot production and the Cybercab roadmap.
- AI-driven consolidation is spreading beyond technology into space and industrial supply chains, with SpaceX recently buying xAI, Cursor, and EchoStar spectrum.
- TSLA stock fell 3.5% pre-market amid merger speculation, while SPCX dropped 2% in broader market weakness.
Dan Ives said Thursday on CNBC that a merger between Tesla and SpaceX is close to inevitable, assigning a 90% probability with Tesla shares priced between $500 and $550. He called Tesla’s latest quarter “a huge step forward” and pointed to the start of Optimus humanoid robot production and the Cybercab roadmap through 2027.
“They’re transitioning from an EV player to what I view as one of the biggest AI players in the market,” Ives said. He added that the potential combination with SpaceX adds significant value beyond Tesla’s fundamentals.
Ives sees the tie-up as part of a wider pattern of AI-driven mergers and acquisitions spreading beyond tech. “You’re going to see more and more M&A, and I think it just speaks to the second, third, fourth derivatives of AI,” he said.
SpaceX has already consolidated aggressively, buying xAI in an all-stock deal valued at $1.25 trillion. It also agreed to buy AI coding company Cursor for $60 billion in stock and paid $17 billion for EchoStar spectrum.
Rocket Lab agreed in June to buy Iridium for about $54 a share in cash and stock. GE Aerospace last month agreed to buy castings maker Consolidated Precision Products for $11.75 billion to address a “really difficult bottleneck” in gas turbine blades.
TSLA stock dropped as much as 3.5% in pre-market trade amid the merger speculation. SPCX stock was also trading lower, down around 2%, while retail sentiment on SpaceX trended in “extremely bullish” territory.
Musk said on SpaceX’s earnings call that both boards formed special committees of independent directors to discuss a merger. He cautioned that a deal is not guaranteed and would need a vote of 50% of all Tesla shares, which he called “quite a high hurdle.”
Musk owns about 20% of Tesla and roughly 48% of SpaceX, where Class B shares give him around 82% of the vote. He said he cannot participate in the discussions due to being a “conflicted party.”
✅ Follow BITNEWSBOT on Telegram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X.com, and Google News for instant updates.
