Elon Musk backs a $3.5trillion Tesla-SpaceX merger but warns the shareholder vote is 'quite a high hurdle'
SpaceX's Starship rocket lifting off from Boca Chica, Texas. Elon Musk's company posted a $4.4bn quarterly profit, reversing a loss of about $1bn a year earlier, as talks over a merger with Tesla continue.
Wall Street expects a deal by the end of next year, but Musk insists that treating a merger as a foregone conclusion 'would be overstating it'. Special committees of independent directors at both firms are weighing terms, with Musk barred as a 'conflicted party'. He branded the set-up 'an odd kabuki dance'. SpaceX shares rose 9% in premarket trading after it posted a $4.4billion quarterly profit.
Tesla's vote needs 50% of all outstanding shares, and Musk holds only about 20%.
Musk commands roughly 85% of SpaceX's voting power via super-voting shares.
Last week's Tesla Roadster used SpaceX rocket thrusters to flip and leap over a truck.
