- SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell didn't dismiss the possibility of a tie-up with Tesla, Elon Musk's other trillion-dollar public company.
- A tie-up "might make Elon's life a little easier," Shotwell told CNBC, as SpaceX was preparing to hit the Nasdaq following the largest IPO on record.
- Musk merged SpaceX with his AI company, xAI, earlier this year, after previously combing xAI and X, formerly known as Twitter.
As
SpaceX was poised to hit the Nasdaq following the largest initial public offering on record, Elon Musk's second-in-command, Gwynne Shotwell, didn't dismiss the possibility of an eventual tie-up with Tesla, Musk's other trillion-dollar company.
Speaking to CNBC's Morgan Brennan on Friday, Shotwell said such a
combination "might make Elon's life a little easier."
Musk officially became the world's first
trillionaire due to his stakes in the two companies. At SpaceX, he has hefty control over decision-making, with over 80% voting power. He sits on Tesla's board and tends to get his way.
Shotwell is SpaceX's operating chief and joined in 2002 as one of the rocket maker's earliest employees. Whatever might happen in the years to come, Shotwell said she has plenty of work to do today. SpaceX's market cap opened above $2 trillion, making it the sixth most valuable U.S. company, ahead of Tesla.
"There's a convergence of 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 combining his entities.
In February, he
merged SpaceX with xAI, his artificial intelligence startup, in a deal that valued the combined company at $1.25 trillion. The main reason for that deal, he said at the time, is to better build "orbital data centers."
The transaction brought to SpaceX data centers as well as Grok's AI models, AI chatbot and image generator. It also included social network X, formerly known as Twitter, because Musk had merged X and xAI in early 2025.
Shotwell acknowledged that both companies align, but said she's focused on building rockets, improving broadband access and getting to the International Space Station.
But she acknowledged that M&A will continue to play a role, "especially when you look at the AI world." SpaceX owns an option to buy AI-coding startup Cursor for $60 billion.
"I think you'll see more of that just generally," she said.
— CNBC's Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.
,<small>Source: CNBC</small>
Business
SpaceX COO Shotwell says Tesla tie-up ‘might make Elon’s life a little easier’
CNBC
June 12, 2026
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