As we gear up for the SpaceX IPO next month, what are the odds of a SpaceX merger with Tesla?

Sima Modi has that story for us. Are people talking about this, Sima? They certainly are, Sarah.

What we learned is that Elon Musk has engaged in thought experiments around folding Tesla into SpaceX's

ecosystem, given the synergistic opportunities. That's according to people directly familiar with the matter

who spoke to myself

and digital reporter Laura Klaughtney. What we found first and foremost, Tesla and SpaceX share talent.

Musk is CEO and sits on the board of both companies, as does his brother Kimball. SpaceX board

members Antonio Gracius and Steve Gerbetson previously sat on Tesla's board. And there's another key figure.

Charles Kuhman, who serves as vice president of materials engineering for both companies.

He's known guys for playing a central role in troubleshooting key design issues for both businesses.

In fact, we're told engineers from SpaceX and Tesla often collaborate on solving issues related to energy, GPU constraints.

Now, a deal of this size would be complex, with SpaceX having a potentially market cap of $1.5 trillion

once it goes public, while Tesla is currently sitting at around 1.6 legal experts we spoke to

said that a SpaceX Tesla merger wouldn't really invite antitrust concerns, but would raise some

important questions on valuation. Tesla shareholders will want to know, how are they getting

compensated and if it will be a one-for-one trade? Well, SpaceX investors will likely want to know

if they are overpaying. One thing is clear, Sarah and Carl, with Musk retaining 85% voting power in SpaceX,

he's likely not going to receive a lot of pushback should he decide to pursue a merger, guys.

I'm just thinking of all of the aspirational notes from Adam Jonas over the years where he would draw

scenarios or you have optimist robots working on the moon. You'd have the boring company drilling tunnels on the moon, things like that.

Yeah, I mean, his empire is certainly widening.

And the idea of cross-collaboration, to your point, Carl, is something that a lot of market participants have been brainstorming around.

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