SpaceX and Tesla begin formal merger review

Elon Musk says SpaceX and Tesla have each set up a committee of independent directors to examine a possible merger—the first formal step, not a deal. The structure matters because Musk is chief executive and a major shareholder in both companies: he said he will stay out of the committees’ talks so directors can assess a transaction for each company’s investors. The idea would bring Tesla’s electric-vehicle, energy-storage and robotics work together with SpaceX’s launch and satellite-internet businesses; Musk argues they overlap in areas such as AI, chip design and robotics. But no price, share-exchange ratio or agreement has been reached, and Musk stressed that a merger is not certain.