Tesla deal makes ‘Elon’s life a little easier’
Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, is interviewed by CNBC during the company’s initial public offering on the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City on June 12, 2026.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Like SpaceX Gwynne Shotwell, Elon Musk’s second-in-command as he prepares to hit Nasdaq after the biggest IPO on record, hasn’t ruled out an eventual tie-up with Nasdaq. Tesla’sMusk’s other trillion-dollar company.
Such a combination “could make Elon’s life a little easier,” Shotwell told CNBC’s Morgan Brennan on Friday.
Musk officially became the world’s first trillionaire thanks to his shares in two companies. At SpaceX, he has great control over decision-making with over 80% voting power. He sits on Tesla’s board of directors and tends to do what he wants.
Shotwell is SpaceX’s chief operating officer and joined in 2002 as one of the rocket maker’s first employees. Shotwell said he has a lot of work to do today, no matter what happens in the coming years. SpaceX’s market capitalization has risen to over $2 trillion, making it the sixth most valuable U.S. company, ahead of Tesla.
“There’s a convergence in what we’re all trying to accomplish in the future, but right now I’m focused on keeping the lights on here,” Shotwell said.
Musk has a history of consolidating his assets.
In February, it merged SpaceX with its own artificial intelligence startup, xAI, in a deal that valued the combined company at $1.25 trillion. He said at the time that the main reason for this deal was to build better “orbital data centers.”
The process was brought to SpaceX data centers as well as Grok’s AI models, AI chatbot, and renderer. It also included social network X, formerly known as Twitter, as Musk merged X and xAI in early 2025.
Tesla and SpaceX already share resources, including engineers, and Musk has discussed merging the companies, CNBC previously reported. Tesla acquired a stake in SpaceX after investing in xAI.
Shotwell acknowledged that both companies are moving in the same direction, but said they are focused on building rockets, improving broadband access and reaching the International Space Station.
But he acknowledged that mergers and acquisitions will continue to play a role, “especially when you look at the world of artificial intelligence.” SpaceX has an option to purchase artificial intelligence coding startup Cursor for $60 billion.
“I think you’ll see more of that overall,” he said.
— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.
WRISTWATCH: CNBC’s full interview with SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell
