[New York = E-Daily Seong Joowon Correspondent] Expectations are growing for a potential merger between the two companies as Tesla, the U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer led by Elon Musk, unveiled a flying sports car incorporating SpaceX’s rocket technology. While Wall Street has raised the possibility of a merger announcement within the year, expectations for a merger by March of next year have surpassed 50% in prediction markets.

According to CNBC on the 16th (local time), Tesla unveiled its next-generation electric sports car, the “Roadster,” the previous day at a SpaceX test facility in McGregor, Texas. This comes about nine years after the company first announced its development plans in 2017.
The white Roadster unveiled that day rapidly ascended a curved ramp and then drove backward using a suction device. It then leaped into the air, spun around, hovered briefly, and landed back on the ground. This technology utilizes a propulsion system developed by SpaceX, along with high-pressure tanks and powerful fans. Tesla stated that the vehicle can accelerate from a standstill to 60 miles per hour (approximately 96 km/h) in less than one second.
Musk said at the event, “You’ll see what happens when the world’s best car company and the world’s best rocket company collaborate.”
This demonstration showcased the two companies’ technical collaboration and reignited speculation about a merger. According to CNBC, the market price of a contract on the U.S. prediction market Calci—predicting that Tesla and SpaceX will merge by March of next year—rose from 29% on the 14th to 56% on the morning of the 16th. This figure reflects market participants’ expectations rather than the actual probability of a merger.

The possibility of a merger is also being raised on Wall Street. Dan Levy, an analyst at Barclays, raised the possibility of a merger between the two companies in a report this week. In particular, he predicted that merger plans could be announced ahead of Tesla’s annual shareholders’ meeting, which must be held by December 6 at the latest.
The key driver behind the merger is said to be the vertical integration of the artificial intelligence (AI) business. Barclays discussed a plan to combine Tesla’s autonomous “Robotaxi” and humanoid robot “Optimus” with the AI model “Grok” and the AI software project “Macrohard.” The firm also analyzed that “Terafab,” a semiconductor project involving Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI, could serve as a major driver for the merger.
Analyst Levy assessed, “While there may be some financial synergies, the true value will lie in vertical integration.”
However, the merger has not yet been officially announced. Even if it does move forward, there are significant hurdles to overcome, such as determining enterprise value, obtaining shareholder approval, and passing regulatory reviews.
The commercialization of the Roadster will also take time. Musk has stated that production will begin in 2028 but has not disclosed the selling price. Tesla has been accepting deposits since 2017 but has repeatedly failed to meet its launch targets. It remains unclear whether the levitation feature unveiled this time can be directly applied to mass-produced vehicles or whether such vehicles will be legally permitted to operate on public roads.