Musk Backs Tesla SpaceX Merger That Would Hold 30,221 BTC
A Tesla and SpaceX merger would put 30,221 BTC, worth roughly $2.5 billion, on one balance sheet. Musk called the idea good on SpaceX's Q3 call but warned a deal is far from certain, with Tesla shareholder approval a key hurdle.
30,221 BTC. Roughly $2.5 billion. That is the bitcoin a combined Tesla and SpaceX would carry. Elon Musk said on SpaceX's third-quarter earnings call on Oct. 20 that independent directors at both companies are exploring a merger.
Special committees of independent directors at each firm have begun examining the proposal following shareholder requests, Musk said. His view: "Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes." He stopped short of promising a deal.
"And obviously, there's no guarantee that they will,"
Elon Musk
He also said treating a deal as "a certainty" would be "overstating it."
The Bitcoin math
SpaceX holds 18,712 BTC, disclosed in the S-1 it filed ahead of its June IPO. Tesla holds 11,509 BTC, per its most recent quarterly filing. Together: 30,221 BTC.
The dollar figure moves with the price. At BTC near $83,000, the stack is worth roughly $2.5 billion. Above $84,000, it is about $2.54 billion.
Cost basis sits between $1 billion and $1.05 billion, an average buy price near $35,000 per coin. Unrealized gains top $1.4 billion.
Ranking estimates vary. The combined holding could be the world's sixth-largest publicly traded corporate bitcoin treasury, among the top handful of public holders and trailing Strategy and a few others.
Hurdles
Musk cannot take part directly in negotiations because of his stakes and roles at both companies. He called the arrangement an "odd kabuki dance."
"I mean, this is definitely kind of a question where I feel like I'm tap dancing through a mine field," he said.
Shareholder approval is a key hurdle. Musk said a deal needs 50% of all Tesla shares outstanding, not just a majority of votes cast.
What it means for Bitcoin
Not much, near term. Neither company has signaled buying or selling BTC. A merger would consolidate existing coins, not create new demand, and the treasury math stays hypothetical while talks are exploratory.
Treasury accounting is a live issue, though. The SpaceX position was more than double what blockchain trackers had attributed to SpaceX wallets. And fair-value accounting recently forced Tesla to book a loss as Bitcoin slid.
Payments remain unchanged. Tesla stopped accepting bitcoin in May 2021, with Musk pledging to reconsider once mining hit about 50% clean energy. Cambridge's 2025 research estimated 52.4% sustainable energy. Tesla still does not accept it.
On operations, SpaceX reported Q3 revenue of $14.6 billion, up 161% year over year, with net income of $4.4 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $8.8 billion. Starlink has 13.6 million consumer subscribers.
