Reading between the lines on the latest SpaceX merger report and Musk’s cryptic tweet

Bloomberg reported this morning that SpaceX was in “advanced talks” with xAI about a merger. That might sound similar to some of the eye-popping stories we all read just a few days ago, but there are some new nuances here that are worth paying attention to. 

Chiefly, Bloomberg’s report today says that the companies “may announce an agreement as soon as this week,” though the story also includes typical M&A shoptalk language that negotiations are ongoing and could drag on or fall apart. Things can always fall apart for a number of reasons, which is why you see a similar line in pretty much every M&A story from any respectable news outlet. But this story is a pretty good indication that in-the-know people are telling Bloomberg reporters that SpaceX and xAI are very close to a deal.

(And why wouldn’t they be? I assume this negotiation is just Elon Musk looking in a mirror and talking with himself in two different voices.) 

Another thing to pay attention to around this report: Musk himself replied “Yes” to someone’s post on X that linked to the Bloomberg story and indicated that a merger between the two companies would mean “Explore the Universe 🤝 Understand the Universe.” That’s not a confirmation, but it’s certainly not a denial, which is something Musk frequently does with reporting he doesn’t like. 

The third thing I’d be paying close attention to with regard to this report is that Bloomberg was the news outlet that originally reported Tesla might be involved in merger talks with xAI. But this latest article doesn’t mention Tesla as part of the tie-up — in fact, its only mention of Tesla in the talks is to say in the last paragraph that SpaceX “has also discussed the feasibility of a tie-up with Musk’s Tesla Inc., Bloomberg News has reported.”

Of course that doesn’t rule Tesla out, but it’s interesting that in a story that definitely seems to move deal progress forward, Tesla’s not mentioned near the top.