Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Time for me to upgrade Tesla back to a Buy. The thesis is getting well supported by its AI transformation and improved optimism over a potential SpaceX merger. FSD adoption is accelerating quickly, with over 75% of new North American deliveries subscribing and FSD ARR possibly reaching $1 billion. Energy storage and FSD/robotaxi are emerging as pivotal growth drivers, but automotive remains the primary revenue source for the next 12–24 months.

Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX – Free Report) by 13.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 92,131 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,659 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in SpaceX were worth $13,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SC US Ttgp LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of SpaceX during the second quarter worth approximately $20,933,621,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in SpaceX in the second quarter valued at $17,335,783,000. K5 Global Advisor LLC bought a new position in SpaceX during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,587,531,000. State Street Corp acquired a new position in SpaceX during the 2nd quarter worth $1,858,329,000. Finally, Dragoneer Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of SpaceX in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,366,880,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of research firms recently commented on SPCX. Bank of America lifted their price target on SpaceX from $235.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of SpaceX in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of SpaceX in a report on Wednesday. Phillip Securities upgraded SpaceX to a “strong sell” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group started coverage on SpaceX in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $175.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SpaceX has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $244.19.

Check Out Our Latest Report on SpaceX SpaceX Price Performance Shares of SPCX stock opened at $147.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 5.12 and a quick ratio of 4.99. SpaceX has a 12-month low of $104.83 and a 12-month high of $225.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.40. The company has a market cap of $1.94 trillion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,638.78.

SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $14.57 billion for the quarter. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 161.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.36) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that SpaceX will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling In other SpaceX news, COO Gwynne Shotwell sold 342,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total transaction of $52,547,046.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 2,472,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,630,414.95. This trade represents a 12.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Trending Headlines about SpaceX Here are the key news stories impacting SpaceX this week:

Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings and AI growth supported the rebound. SpaceX reported third-quarter revenue of $14.58 billion, up 161% year over year, and earnings per share of $0.35 versus analysts’ $0.10 estimate. Its AI segment reportedly generated $431 million in net income, helping offset losses in the launch business. Fantastic News for SpaceX Stock Investors Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved sharply. PhilipCapital upgraded SpaceX from “Sell” to “Buy” and raised its price target from $75 to $250. Bank of America also lifted its target to $275, citing stronger growth prospects and Starship milestones. SpaceX Just Scored a Double Upgrade Positive Sentiment: Wireless ambitions broaden the growth story. Reports that SpaceX is seeking access to at least 80,000 U.S. cell sites suggest Starlink could evolve into a nationwide wireless carrier, potentially creating a major new revenue stream. The news pressured telecom stocks while benefiting tower owners. SpaceX Seeks Access to 80,000 US Cell Sites Neutral Sentiment: A potential Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) merger remains speculative. Elon Musk called the combination a “good idea,” but valuation, conflicts of interest, shareholder approval, antitrust review and Tesla’s China operations could delay or prevent a transaction. SpaceX-Tesla Merger Chatter Negative Sentiment: Funding and cash-burn concerns remain significant. SpaceX reportedly burned more than $9.9 billion in free cash flow during the quarter and is raising approximately $40 billion of debt at relatively high interest rates to finance AI and other expansion plans. SpaceX $40 Billion Debt Deal Negative Sentiment: Execution and reputational risks could limit upside. The launch division was unprofitable because of heavy research spending, while reports of continuing Starlink restrictions in Ukraine could threaten government relationships and future contracts. In addition, upcoming insider share unlocks may increase supply. Ukraine Says Starlink Restrictions Remain SpaceX Profile (Free Report)

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly known as SpaceX, is a privately held aerospace company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk. The company develops and operates launch vehicles and spacecraft designed to reduce the cost of access to space and support commercial, government and scientific missions.

SpaceX’s principal products and services include the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, the Dragon spacecraft and the Starlink satellite communications network. Falcon rockets are used to launch satellites, cargo and crew, while Dragon spacecraft support transportation to and from low Earth orbit.

Read More Five stocks we like better than SpaceX Spotify Soars After Earnings as the Company Touts AI Benefits and Moderating Costs Lockheed Martin’s Record $292 Billion Backlog Comes With a Delivery Test Palantir’s Next Big Test Isn’t a Partnership—It’s the Numbers Kinder Morgan’s $4.7 Billion Pipeline Bet Could Be Bigger Than Its Earnings Beat

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Five Oceans Advisors lessened its position in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA – Free Report) by 43.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,720 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after selling 2,116 shares during the period. Five Oceans Advisors’ holdings in Tesla were worth $965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Tesla by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,192 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $6,455,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Tesla during the third quarter worth approximately $402,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Tesla by 11.2% during the third quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 24,769 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $8,788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,497 shares during the period. Carter Financial Group INC. grew its position in Tesla by 17.1% during the third quarter. Carter Financial Group INC. now owns 6,343 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $2,251,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JSF Financial LLC grew its position in Tesla by 5.2% during the third quarter. JSF Financial LLC now owns 3,063 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

Tesla News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

Positive Sentiment: Tesla beat third-quarter adjusted earnings expectations, reporting $0.48 per share versus the $0.45 consensus estimate, and generated approximately $1.5 billion in positive free cash flow. Tesla Surpasses Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates Positive Sentiment: Paid Full Self-Driving adoption exceeded 75% of North American deliveries, with subscriptions increasing 67% year over year. Investors view FSD, robotaxis, Optimus robots, and Megapack energy storage as potential long-term growth engines. Tesla’s FSD Subscriptions Surge Positive Sentiment: European sales reportedly strengthened, while Tesla is expanding its Cybercab robotaxi program beyond Austin and developing AI-based mapping from fleet data. These developments support the company’s autonomy narrative, although commercialization remains early. Tesla Europe Sales Surge Neutral Sentiment: Elon Musk called a SpaceX-Tesla merger a “good idea,” and both companies reportedly formed special committees to study a combination. Potential benefits include shared work in AI, chips, robotics, connectivity, and energy, but no transaction is certain. SpaceX-Tesla Merger Chatter Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain divided: Morgan Stanley raised its target to $410 with an equal-weight rating, while RBC maintained an outperform rating and a $480 target. Bullish forecasts depend heavily on successful autonomy and robotics execution. Negative Sentiment: Revenue was essentially flat year over year at about $28 billion, automotive revenue fell 3%, energy-generation and storage revenue declined 16%, and GAAP operating income dropped 56%. Refunds and other factors also clouded the reported margin improvement. Tesla Automotive and Energy Revenue Results Negative Sentiment: Tesla reduced its 2026 capital-expenditure outlook from more than $25 billion to approximately $20 billion after third-quarter spending trailed expectations. Investors worry the pullback could delay AI, robotics, and robotaxi ambitions. Tesla Spending Pullback Negative Sentiment: Tesla will refund Cybertruck deposits in Australia and New Zealand, signaling reduced regional ambitions for the troubled vehicle. Regulatory scrutiny of the Cybercab and delays in unsupervised FSD add further execution risk. Negative Sentiment: The broader Nasdaq sell-off, renewed doubts about AI spending returns, higher oil prices, and geopolitical tensions have pressured high-valuation technology stocks, including TSLA. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In TSLA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Tesla in a research report on Monday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $425.00 price objective (up from $391.00) on shares of Tesla in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $420.00 price objective on Tesla in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $475.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Tesla in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $408.61. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on TSLA

Insider Activity at Tesla In other Tesla news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,606 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.13, for a total value of $938,498.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 25,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,353,296.36. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 19.90% of the company’s stock.

Tesla Stock Down 0.6% NASDAQ TSLA opened at $372.22 on Friday. Tesla, Inc. has a twelve month low of $297.38 and a twelve month high of $498.83. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 409.04, a PEG ratio of 23.78 and a beta of 1.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $364.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $377.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. Tesla had a return on equity of 3.03% and a net margin of 3.11%. The firm had revenue of $28.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 0.71 EPS for the current year.

Tesla Company Profile (Free Report)

Tesla, Inc is an electric vehicle and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003, the company designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, including the Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y and Cybertruck. Tesla also develops vehicle software, driver-assistance features and related services intended to support the operation and ownership of its vehicles.

Beyond automobiles, Tesla produces energy storage products for residential, commercial and utility-scale applications, including the Powerwall and Megapack.

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It's no secret that a merger between Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SPCX +1.89%) and Tesla could be in the works.

The prediction markets platform Kalshi places the odds of such a tie-up happening before next May at 59%, as of this writing.

On SpaceX's most recent earnings call, SpaceX and Tesla's Founder and CEO Elon Musk added fuel to the fire by saying, "Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes," when discussing the idea. Musk added that both companies have created special committees to explore such a transaction.

But a merger between two such massive companies is bound to be complex and likely to face several obstacles. Here's what stands in the way.

Image source: The White House.

Deal approval is not guaranteed, and there could be regulatory challengesWhat makes a SpaceX-Tesla merger unique is that it involves two of the largest companies in the world by market cap, with the same CEO who also holds a significant stake in both.

At SpaceX, which has a market cap of $2 trillion, Musk pretty much controls all of the voting power. The company has both Class A and Class B shares of common stock. Musk owns most of the Class B shares. Collectively, Musk controls roughly 85% of the voting power.

SPCX Space Exploration Technologies$147.49+$2.74 (+1.89%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/23/26

It's a different story at Tesla, where there are not two separate share classes, and Musk owns about 19.8% of the outstanding shares, according to the company's latest proxy report.

A recent regulatory filing from SpaceX said a merger would require approval by a special committee, the board of directors, and Musk, who has recused himself from negotiations due to a conflict of interest.

"... At the end of the day, the shareholders have to be supportive of this. And particularly on the Tesla side, we will need a 50% vote of all shares, not just those who vote, but of all shareholders," Musk said on SpaceX's earnings call. "And that's quite a high hurdle to try to achieve. So, and I can just say at this point, that the special committees have not reached agreement on the terms of any transaction."

If they were to agree, a SpaceX-Tesla merger could face regulatory issues. The combined entity will have many businesses under one roof, particularly in artificial intelligence.

TSLA Tesla$372.22-$2.36 (-0.63%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/23/26

″Antitrust scrutiny, national security considerations (given SpaceX's military contracts), and cross-border regulatory reviews all present significant challenges," Counterpoint Research Analyst Kevin Li wrote in an email sent to CNBC.

Musk has also not made many friends among Democratic politicians lately, having spent roughly $445 million through super PACs this election cycle to support GOP candidates. Kalshi predicts Democrats will reclaim both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in the upcoming midterm elections.

Deal likely won't result in huge premiumGary Black, a managing partner at the Future Fund, recently wrote on X that he expects SpaceX to offer $420 per share for Tesla in an all-stock deal, implying only about 13% upside from current levels.

Black doesn't expect the deal to "... be as compelling" due to the "massive dilution and all-equity economics."

Ultimately, a SpaceX-Tesla deal may make sense, as both companies are focusing on AI at this point. Musk has previously said he expects robotics to be a huge component of SpaceX down the line, and Tesla is beginning production of its Optimus humanoid robots.

SpaceX and Tesla are also already collaborating on several projects, whether it's Tesla's new Roadster or SpaceX's Terafab facility.

But the deal is by no means guaranteed to go through for the reasons mentioned above. Even if it does, it's unlikely to lead to a huge premium on Tesla stock. The market is already aware there's a high likelihood of a deal being announced, so some of that is likely already priced into Tesla's stock price.

Tom Staudt, president of ARK Invest (@ARKInvest2015), discusses how the decline of AI inference costs opens the door to a stronger productivity, which in turn leads to a stronger economy. A tentative merger between Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX (SPCX) is something he believes adds to that thesis.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) is finalizing a $40 billion debt raise at interest rates well above what the rocket maker paid the last time it borrowed from bondholders.

James Talarico's campaign hit back at Elon Musk Thursday, calling the 2026 election cycle's top spender out for his cash infusion in the Texas Senate race amid an ongoing feud between the Democratic nominee and the world's richest man.

A video posted by the Talarico campaign's account on X Thursday of a new ad targets Musk for his record spending in favor of Republican nominee Ken Paxton, telling him "Texas is not for sale."

"Do you keep seeing these attack ads against James Talarico? Look a little closer. The same super PACs are paying for nearly all of them," the video's narrator intones. "But who's funding these dark money groups? Elon Musk."

"He's almost single-handedly bankrolling the effort to install Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate," the narrator continues.

"Elon wants to buy up our land, he wants to buy up our water, and now, he wants to buy his own personal U.S. senator. He knows that if his millions drag the most corrupt politician in Texas across the finish line, Ken Paxton will owe him everything."

The new ad dropped with less than two weeks until the midterm election and amid an ongoing feud between Talarico and Musk.

In a post Wednesday on X, Musk said, "There is something deeply wrong with James Talarico." And on Thursday, he wrote on X that "Talarico hates Texas and America" while reposting a video about voter-ID requirements.

Talarico fired back Wednesday, replying to the earlier post, "There is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal U.S. Senator."

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has spent around $366 million across 40 races so far in the midterms, based on CNBC's calculations, making Musk the largest individual donor of the cycle. Much of that spending is based in Texas, where he moved his corporate headquarters and personal primary residence.

At least $189.6 million of Musk's political spend has been in support of Paxton through various methods, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas and Talarico's opponent. An average of polls aggregated by FiftyPlusOne show Talarico with a three-percentage-point advantage over Paxton as of Oct. 23.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA | TSLA Price Prediction) has told Australian and New Zealand reservation holders that it will no longer build the Cybertruck for either market.

On a third-quarter earnings conference call, Elon Musk said Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) may need roughly 10,000 to 20,000 Optimus robots to generate training data through "self-play," in which robots practice tasks and use the resulting experience to improve.

While this is not a production target or confirmed prerequisite for deployment, Musk estimates the 20,000 figure is what the company may need to create a training loop for a machine that does not yet have a vast fleet generating real-world data.

Tesla Cars Have a Data Head StartTesla’s autonomous-driving program benefits from information gathered by vehicles already on the road. Optimus does not have that same starting point, Musk said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

"A big difference with Optimus versus the cars is we don’t have this vast fleet of cars from which we can gather training data," he said. Instead, Tesla needs to build robots and have them learn by doing.

Ashok Elluswamy, VP of AI at Tesla, reinforced the distinction: "For the car, we actually have the data from the cars’ embodiment itself, but for Optimus, there’s no existing fleet to get into."

That creates a different scaling challenge. More cars can provide more driving examples as customers use them; Optimus may first need a substantial population to collect examples of robots handling physical tasks.

Read Next

Robot SchoolMusk’s latest comments outline a proposed approach, not proof it already works at scale.

According to the billionaire, Tesla’s "Optimus Academy” is in the works. The company would let robots practice a wide range of tasks, then use the data in a "flywheel" to improve performance across those tasks over time.

For investors, the 10,000-to-20,000 figure is less a near-term sales forecast than a marker of the infrastructure Tesla may need before Optimus can improve rapidly. Key milestones will show robots performing more tasks, repeatable progress from training, and a clearer timeline for deploying enough machines to support that process.

Read Next

Image via Shutterstock

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Defining Tesla (TSLA -3.08%) has always been a challenging question for investors.

As an electric-vehicle maker, Tesla has never traded like a typical car company. Legacy automakers like General Motors and Ford tend to trade for single-digit price-to-earnings ratios, even though these companies bring in boatloads of profits most years.

Five years ago, investors seemed assured that electric vehicles would disrupt the whole auto market and that combustion vehicles would be left in the past. However, that hasn't happened, and Tesla's vehicle sales have been basically flat over the last three years. Meanwhile, GM and Ford have pulled back from their own efforts in EVs.

After three years of flat vehicle sales, you might expect Tesla stock to swoon, but instead it has kept pace with the S&P 500, climbing to a market cap of $1.5 trillion.

Tesla has managed to do that largely by shifting investor focus away from EVs and to the future.

Image source: Tesla.

Elon Musk's sleight of hand
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is known for making big promises. He has a reputation for being late, but eventually delivering on those.

After taking Tesla's EV business mainstream against long odds, Musk now sees the future of the company in autonomy, specifically with autonomous vehicles built on the company's full self-driving technology, and its Optimus autonomous robot, which is in development.

On the third-quarter earnings call, Musk said that he believed Optimus would become "the biggest product ever." Tesla is currently working to scale production to 20,000 units a week, and it predicted that initial customer deliveries would begin around the end of 2027. Most CEOs wouldn't move the needle with such a prediction, and would likely be reluctant to make one, but Musk has built up enough credibility with investors that they're willing to bet on those forecasts.

Similarly, the Tesla chief said that full self-driving (FSD), Tesla's autonomous vehicle system which still requires human supervision, is the biggest driver of Tesla demand, and even predicted that Tesla would perform the majority of passenger miles in countries where it's allowed to operate with FSD.

With bombastic statements like that from Musk, perhaps it's not surprising that the currently no-growth company trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 200.

TSLA Tesla$374.58-$11.89 (-3.08%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/22/26

Tesla's revenue in the second quarter fell by 0.2% to $28 billion, with automotive revenue down 3% to $20.6 billion, while energy generation and storage revenue slipped 16% to $2.88 billion. Services were the only one of its three segments to grow, with revenue up 33% to $4.6 billion.

Profits fell as the company continues to invest in AI and next-gen products like Optimus.

With nearly three-quarters of its revenue still coming from its vehicles, Tesla is a car company by any reasonable definition. However, the company has been able to separate its valuation from its current status as a no-growth car company.

Tesla's investments in Optimus, FSD, and AI are clearly worth something, but it remains to be seen whether they can reach significant scale, since huge profits from those businesses are already baked into the price.

Considering that, and Tesla's own struggles to continue growing its auto business, the stock looks best avoided at this point. At Tesla's current market cap, investors expect it to grow its annual profit to at least $50 billion, based on valuations of its big tech peers. That will either have to come from new products like Optimus or from the renewed growth of its auto business.

Even if Optimus is a success, it will take several years for the company to reach $50 billion in annual profit, given that its current annual revenue is just $120 billion. Until Tesla proves it's more than a car company, the math just doesn't add up.

Laffer Tengler Investments CEO and CIO Nancy Tengler and Gerber Kawasaki President and CEO Ross Gerber debate Tesla's Optimus robot timeline, and more, on 'The Claman Countdown.' #fox #foxbusiness #media #breakingnews #us #usa #new #news #breaking #theclamancountdown #tesla #tsla #elonmusk #musk #stocks #stockmarket #wallstreet #investing #investments #finance #financialnews #business #businessnews #earnings #earningsreport #optimus #robot #robotics #ai #artificialintelligence #technology #tech #innovation #market #trading #investors #electricvehicles #ev #nasdaq #economy

Tesla beat Q3 expectations, but declining profitability, a lofty valuation, and uncertainty surrounding its AI ambitions raise questions about whether TSLA stock is a buy after the post-earnings selloff.

SPCX Space Exploration Technologies$144.75-$14.56 (-9.14%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/22/26

Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX -9.14%), better known as SpaceX, a launch vehicles, spacecraft, and satellite broadband services provider, closed at $144.75, down 9.14%. Shares jumped 10% the previous day due to the company's third-quarter earnings strength, but gave way to profit-taking and a share unlock. Investors are watching Starship test progress and spectrum regulation for wireless networks next.

Trading volume reached 193.8 million shares, coming in about 96% above its three-month average of 99.1 million shares. SpaceX IPO'd in 2026 and has fallen 10% since going public.

How the markets moved todayThe S&P 500 (^GSPC -1.21%) fell 1.22% to 7,663, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -2.60%) dropped 2.60% to 26,009. Among aerospace and defense launch services, spacecraft manufacturing, and satellite broadband/connectivity peers, Rocket Lab (RKLB -4.57%) closed at $51.22, down 4.56%, and Planet Labs PBC (PL -4.59%) closed at $13.08, down 4.60%.

What this means for investorsThursday's slide followed profit-taking and a share unlock of about 911.5 million insider shares becoming available for sale. SpaceX stock was also under pressure due to the company's Q3 capital expenditures, which soared to $19.6 billion compared to the prior year's $6.9 billion.

The company announced Q3 results on Oct. 20, where it delivered an impressive 161% year-over-year sales increase to $14.6 billion. Part of that growth was due to its Super Intelligence division, which seeks to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. This area generated Q3 revenue of $7.6 billion, up substantially from 2025's $813 million.

Along with strong sales, SpaceX shares were galvanized by CEO Elon Musk suggesting the space-based company could merge with Tesla. On the company's earnings call, Musk stated, "Both SpaceX and Tesla have formed special committees to discuss this idea."

This month, SpaceX caused telecom stocks to plunge after the company revealed a nationwide low-band spectrum deal with Grain Management. This is a major step toward SpaceX offering direct-to-device phone coverage across the U.S.

Robert Izquierdo has positions in Planet Labs PBC, Rocket Lab, Space Exploration Technologies, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Planet Labs PBC, Rocket Lab, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

SpaceX said Thursday its potential merger with Tesla will require controlling investor Elon Musk’s approval, even though the entrepreneur has recused himself from talks between his two companies because of conflicts of interest.

Musk, the world’s richest person, said on Tuesday a merger of SpaceX and Tesla would ​be “a good idea” and that they had formed special committees to discuss a union.

In a regulatory filing on Thursday, SpaceX said, “No determination by our special committee has been made regarding any potential combination, and any potential combination would be subject to further approval by our special committee, our board of directors and our controlling shareholder.”

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, said a merger of SpaceX and Tesla would ​be “a good idea” and that they had formed special committees to discuss a union. Getty Images Several Wall Street analysts have said they see a Tesla-SpaceX merger as a matter of when, not if, but disagree on how much Tesla shareholders should receive in a deal.

Musk’s public endorsement this week of the potential $3.5 trillion merger has also rattled some insiders involved in the discussions, ​who worry his comments could invite shareholder scrutiny and delay the process by several weeks, Reuters reported earlier on Thursday.

Musk owns nearly a fifth of Tesla and holds voting control at SpaceX. Analysts have said a merger would give him control of the combined entity and could consolidate his influence.

The disclosure created ‌a “mess” for the process, as it could lead to questions about how well Tesla shareholders’ interests would be represented, a person with direct knowledge of the talks told Reuters.

Bringing the companies together could also simplify decision-making, as multiple companies require approvals from separate boards and shareholders. The potential merger could give management the flexibility to allocate capital, engineering talent and infrastructure toward more promising projects as firms aggressively push into AI.

Musk owns nearly a fifth of Tesla and holds voting control at SpaceX. Analysts have said a merger would give him control of the combined entity and could consolidate his influence. Cybertrucks are parked outside of a SpaceX installation in Texas, above. REUTERS Tesla on Wednesday cut its annual capital expenditure forecast to roughly $20 billion, down from its previous forecast of more than $25 billion. SpaceX expects $35 billion to $40 billion in capital expenditure in the fourth quarter.

SpaceX is a major contractor for the US military, intelligence agencies and NASA. Tesla, meanwhile, remains deeply tied to China through its Shanghai factory, which plays a major role in vehicle production and sales. Shares of SpaceX rose about 1%, while those of Tesla fell marginally in extended trading.

Tesla investors are likely to demand a premium in a possible merger with SpaceX, says Ben Harwood, New Street Research senior analyst for technology and space infrastructure. Harwood discusses the synergies he sees between Tesla and SpaceX and why demand for Tesla's full self-driving shows the company has momentum to keep profits growing.

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock is trading down Thursday after the company reported mixed financial results for the third quarter on Wednesday. Analysts remain mostly bullish on the stock, but are not increasing price targets after the latest report.

• Tesla stock is under selling pressure. What’s driving TSLA stock lower?

Bank of America analyst Alexander Perry reiterated a Buy rating on Tesla stock with a price target of $460. TD Cowen analyst Itay Michaeli maintained a Buy rating with a price target of $460. StoneX analyst Mickey Legg maintained an Overweight rating with a price target of $475. Needham analyst Chris Pierce reiterated a Hold rating with no price target. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Andres Shepard reiterated an Overweight rating with a price target of $485. Bank of America on Tesla StockWith robotaxi miles increasing, Tesla’s scaling has begun, Perry said in a new investor note.

"We think TSLA’s scaling of its robotaxi service has hit an inflection point," Perry said.

The analyst said Tesla’s core EV business is strong with a large backlog four years out, as indicated by the company.

Perry said Tesla is moving past "early autonomy monetization" and robotaxis could be a "meaningful earnings driver" by the end of 2027.

TD Cowen on Tesla StockThird quarter results showed encouraging vehicle backlog and FSD updates, Michaeli said in a new investor note.

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"We walk away more encouraged by automotive gross margin expansion, FSD/Robotaxi updates, and positive EV demand comments," Michaeli said.

The analyst said the capex update and Optimus timeline could draw some debate but aren’t a "major concern."

"Continued growth in FSD attach rates serves as a positive read for our bullish consumer AV adoption thesis."  

StoneX on Tesla StockTalk of a potential merger with SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) stole the spotlight from Tesla’s earnings, Legg said in a new investor note.  

The analyst said there were multiple positives for the company in the quarter, but most attention will be placed on the potential tie-up of the two Elon Musk-led companies.

"No agreement on terms and no guarantee on one, but (Musk) thinks it would be a good idea," Legg said.

Musk owns around 80% of the SpaceX vote and around 20% of Tesla vote. Legg said a deal between the two companies would swap Tesla’s independent governance for Musk’s SpaceX control, which means "the premium has to compensate" shareholders.

Needham on Tesla StockSimilarly, Pierce said SpaceX merger talk could cloud the current upside for Tesla.

"SPCX for TSLA conversations grew louder this week, potentially capping upside ahead of a potentially modest takeout premium given TSLA’s robust valuation," Pierce said.

The analyst said FSD take rates and vehicle demand were positives for the quarter.

Talks of a merger could be a negative for Tesla stock, the analyst noted.

Cantor Fitzgerald on Tesla Stock"We struggle to see a meaningful upside from a potential SpaceX merger given TSLA’s robust valuation," Pierce said. "We see a higher likelihood of a modest takeout premium, similar to xAI’s purchase of the social media platform X."

Strong FSD subscription numbers and robotaxi updates were highlights from third-quarter results for Sheppard.

The analyst called FSD a "key near-term growth driver for demand."

"We continue to expect TSLA to pursue additional FSD cities in Europe, and we view this as an underappreciated yet material growth driver for the company in the near-term," Sheppard said.

Sheppard expects Tesla to scale the robotaxi rapidly to become the market leader.

Tesla Stock Price ActionTesla stock is down 2.02% to $378.68 on Thursday versus a 52-week trading range of $297.38 to $498.82. Tesla shares are down 12.6% year-to-date in 2026.

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Tesla, Inc. offers enormous long-term optionality, but commercialization timelines remain highly uncertain. My 2031 base case values TSLA at $519/share, far below ARK's $4,400 target, due to more conservative robotaxi and Optimus assumptions. Robotaxi and humanoid robotics are the largest sources of upside and risk, with robotaxi revenue and margin capture being key valuation drivers.

Elon Musk's business empire is tying itself ever closer to the federal government just as he spends record sums to help decide who controls it in the 2026 midterm election.

SpaceX has racked up at least $6.78 billion in federal work so far through Oct. 1 this year, according to FedScout, a research firm that tracks government spending and contracts, nearly twice its total for all of 2024. Tesla, SpaceX, including Musk's artificial intelligence business, also face high-stakes government decisions over defense spending, launch licenses, spectrum, autonomous vehicles, electricity and data centers.

At the same time, Musk has committed roughly $366 million to the 2026 election cycle across at least 40 races, making the world's richest person the midterms' biggest individual donor so far. 

At least $276 million of that money has flowed to Republican groups and Musk's own political operation, America PAC, since July, according to a CNBC analysis of Federal Election Commission filings, as Republican candidates have been whacked on the cost of living and the war in Iran.

For Musk, Republican victories could help preserve his influence and a favorable political environment for his companies. Democratic control of either chamber could instead bring subpoenas and investigations into his businesses, federal contracts and his work leading President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency.

Democrats are favored to win control of the House, while the battle for the Senate remains a toss-up.

"With all that spending, [Musk] wants favors in Congress and from the administration and influence on regulatory contracts as well as being shielded from oversight," said Bruce Freed, president and co-founder of the Center for Political Accountability and a former chief investigator for the Senate banking committee.

Musk did not respond to CNBC's request for a comment on this story. However, he lashed out at the possibility of Democrat-led investigations in a Wednesday post on X, which he owns, saying: "Live by the sword, die by the sword."

"Those who pick fights with me should understand that I will find out who is really pulling the strings and come for them, not just their puppets," he wrote.

Musk's Texas empire Nowhere is the overlap between Musk's business interests and political spending clearer than in his home state of Texas.

Tesla is headquartered in Austin, where it operates its largest U.S. vehicle factory. SpaceX operates a launch facility at its company town, Starbase, in South Texas. Musk's tunneling venture, The Boring Co., is based in Pflugerville.

That gives Texas officials sway over taxes, electricity, permitting, infrastructure and economic-development incentives that can carry enormous consequences for Musk's companies.

At least $189.6 million of his political money is targeted to help elect Republican Ken Paxton through various avenues, prompting his Democratic opponent, James Talarico, to accuse Musk of trying to "buy this Senate seat in Texas."

Musk went after Talarico on Wednesday, saying on X that "There is something deeply wrong" with the Democrat.

"There is something deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal U.S. Senator," Talarico responded.

Musk is spending at the state level, too. He and his trust have given at least $6 million this cycle to state candidates and political groups, including Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows.

The Musk-Abbott connection also extends to personnel: Tesla policy chief Karen Steakley previously served as Abbott's deputy director for legislative affairs.

Tesla and SpaceX are also planning to build a sprawling AI chip factory with Intel outside of Austin in Grimes County, Texas, where longtime Musk lawyer and America PAC attorney Chris Gober is running for Congress.

A $30 billion government businessFor SpaceX, the federal government is one of its most important customers.

Since 2008, the company has received more than $30.7 billion in federal work, according to FedScout. The figure excludes classified contracts and some state-funded spending on services such as Starlink terminals and satellite internet service, which states have used during disaster recovery.

That federal business has accelerated during Trump's second administration, FedScout found. SpaceX has racked up $6.78 billion in 2026 so far, compared with $3.97 billion in 2025 and $3.8 billion for all of 2024.

In late May alone, the Space Force awarded SpaceX $2.29 billion for a military communications network tied to Golden Dome and, three days later, another $4.16 billion for threat-detection satellites.

Congress does not award those contracts, but it funds and oversees the agencies that do, including the Defense Department and NASA, both major SpaceX customers.

"Keeping allies in committee powers in Washington helps [Musk] wield power in the halls of Congress better," said Hilary Braseth, executive director of OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan research group that tracks money in politics.

Musk's America PAC is backing Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which helps write funding bills for NASA and the Pentagon – two of SpaceX's biggest government customers.

Collins' Democratic opponent, Troy Jackson, has accused Musk of trying to "buy a government that serves his interests."

Musk has already learned how quickly that kind of political influence can evaporate.

After spending nearly $300 million to help elect Trump and congressional Republicans in 2024, Musk gained extraordinary access to the administration. He led DOGE's push to slash the federal workforce and pressed for deregulation on several fronts.

Then the relationship blew up. A June 2025 feud over Trump's tax-and-spending bill escalated into threats from the president to cut government support and contracts for Musk's companies.

Now Musk is back in Trump's orbit. In recent weeks, he has attended Trump's state dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping, sat beside the president at his AI summit and received the National Medal of Science. On Sept. 30, the DOD appointed Musk to co-lead Project Meridian, advising the Pentagon on future warfare.

Expanding reachMusk’s political spending extends well beyond the states where his business empire is concentrated.

Across six other battleground states, America PAC had spent about $22.7 million on general election expenditures through Oct. 20, according to a CNBC analysis of FEC filings, including roughly $8.9 million in Ohio, $7.2 million in Michigan and $2 million in Maine.

In Michigan, America PAC is paying for digital ads, mailers, printing and postage, and text and phone outreach supporting Republican Mike Rogers and attacking Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, according to FEC filings. 

Rogers backs a one-year moratorium on new data centers; El-Sayed wants to pause advanced AI development and new data centers until tougher federal safeguards are in place.

In Ohio, America PAC is funding ads, text and phone outreach among other measures helping Republican Jon Husted against Democrat Sherrod Brown, according to FEC filings. Husted wants large data centers to shoulder more grid costs; Brown has attacked industry tax breaks and pledged to make data centers pay their full electricity costs.

Those debates matter more as Musk pushes deeper into AI.

SpaceX's AI division, formerly known as xAI, was awarded a Pentagon contract last July with a $200 million ceiling, while a General Services Administration agreement makes the company's Grok chatbot available across federal agencies through March 2027.

Musk's companies also depend on a web of federal regulators whose decisions can directly affect their ability to expand.

The Federal Aviation Administration licenses SpaceX launches, while the Federal Communications Commission controls satellite licenses and spectrum used by Starlink. Congress funds and oversees both agencies, and the Senate confirms FCC commissioners.

Tesla has its own stakes in Washington, where Congress and federal agencies can reshape electric-vehicle tax breaks, battery subsidies, autonomous-vehicle rules and trade policy affecting Chinese competitors.

Musk's companies are spending directly on those fights, too.

Since January 2025, SpaceX has spent about $5.3 million lobbying on issues including NASA funding, defense spending, military launches, missile defense and procurement, while Tesla has spent about $3.6 million lobbying Washington, according to disclosure reports.

"Elon's spending is virtually unprecedented in recent elections for its scale in such a short period for one individual donor," Freed told CNBC. "He seems to be spending with basically no budget, and he got the money to do so."

Read more CNBC tech newsMusk's clash with Ukraine accelerates demand for Starlink alternatives. Few existThird-party evaluators find vulnerabilities in OpenAI monitoring system during test pilotNvidia CEO Jensen Huang says neocloud demand is 'off the charts' but capital is scarceTesla beats on earnings and sales even as auto revenue declines

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Tesla Earnings Get a Mixed Wall Street Verdict. Here's What Analysts See Next

Summary

Wall Street analysts see progress in Tesla’s self-driving technology, Robotaxi rollout and automotive margins, but warn that rising costs and heavy investment could limit near-term gains

Tesla TSLA drew mixed analyst assessments after its third-quarter report, with progress in autonomous driving offset by questions about spending and near-term profit growth.

Morgan Stanley's Andrew Percoco cited Robotaxi expansion and rising use of Full Self-Driving (FSD) software as encouraging signs. He also pointed to firmer conditions in Tesla's automotive and energy businesses, keeping an Equal-weight rating and a $410 price target. JPMorgan's Rajat Gupta highlighted auto gross margins and autonomy momentum but warned that higher operating costs and continued investment could weigh on near-term results. He maintained a Neutral rating and $430 target.

Needham's Chris Pierce retained a Hold rating, noting that FSD adoption is increasing and wider geographic availability could support demand. However, discussion of a possible deal involving SpaceX may limit the stock's upside if a transaction offers only a modest premium, he said.

Oppenheimer's Colin Rusch rated Tesla Perform, saying the company delivered solid operational execution. He pointed to better margins alongside greater FSD uptake and said additional battery capacity could relieve a supply bottleneck, allowing vehicle output and operating cash flow to improve.

Disclosures
I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and have no plans to buy any new positions in the stocks mentioned within the next 72 hours.

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Elon Musk spent Tesla's earnings call talking about robotaxis, AI, and humanoid robots while glossing over a car business that is losing ground in the world's largest EV market. The gap between Tesla's vision and its reality is growing harder…

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA | TSLA Price Prediction) announced earnings, and CEO Elon Musk’s headline announcements were robotaxis, AI, robotics, and robots. What was almost missing was the fact that Tesla is a car company, and one with modest results in the US and EU. In China, the world’s largest EV market, its results lag industry leaders, all of which are local manufacturers. Some of these “locals” are considered ahead of Tesla in self-driving technology, design, and price.

Tesla’s stock tells the story of what investors think about Tesla’s prospects. It is down 14% this year, while the S&P 500 is 13% higher. Over the last five years, Tesla’s shares are up 27%, and the S&P is up 70%.

Tesla’s revenue for the period was $28 billion, basically flat from a year ago. Net income fell from $1.4 billion to $800 million. Seventy-four percent of revenue came from its auto business. Ten percent came from energy generation and storage. Car deliveries were fairly flat at 486,532.

Musk said that the company’s robotaxi business is promising. However, it is not approved for driverless operation anywhere in the world. Regulators in cities and states are fickle, so no one can say when adoption will be widespread.

As for its Optimus robot product, Musk said there is “still quite a lot of work to do with regard to the AI and the robot for it to be truly useful for open-ended tasks.” That is another way of saying it does not work. Part of Tesla’s appeal is that it will eventually sell millions of these.

Tesla’s prospects could be saved by a merger with Musk-controlled SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX). If Tesla shareholders get a strong valuation in any merger, they will get a better deal if the companies merge. Musk usually gets what he wants, which means Tesla’s shareholders will be rescued.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Tesla (TSLA -2.12%) reported a decent third quarter. The leading electric vehicle (EV) company generated $1.5 billion in free cash flow after high capital expenditures drove it into negative territory in the second quarter.

Talk of a tie-up with Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) added to the intrigue ahead of the report, but investors aren't overly impressed overall. Tesla shares were down 1% as of 11:50 a.m. ET.

Image source: Getty Images.

The company has now produced and shipped more than 10 million EVs. On the conference call for investors, CEO Elon Musk said Tesla aims to make 5 million vehicles annually by 2030. Gross margin increased in Q3, helping earnings beat expectations. The company's free cash flow increased even as it continues to invest in self-driving technology, robotics, and energy.

Tesla stock isn't trading on its automotive results anymore, though. At least not with its valuation at its recent level. Tesla's $1.5 trillion market cap puts its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio in the stratosphere, meaning investors are looking well beyond its EV business.

TSLA Tesla$378.28-$8.20 (-2.12%)

NASDAQ · As of 1:34 PM ET 10/22/26

Musk's prediction about Tesla's autonomous driving future summed up what investors are expecting to come. Regarding the Cybercab and robotaxi potential, Musk stated, "I think Tesla will end up doing a majority of all passenger miles on Earth in any country where it is allowed to operate freely."

Optimus robot production has started in California, and Tesla says its Megapack energy storage capacity is nearly sold out. Those segments will need to continue to scale and sell successfully, and Musk's vision of mass driverless rides will likely need to come true for Tesla stock to move meaningfully higher.

Even talk of exploration teams looking into a merger with SpaceX isn't enough to move Tesla stock right now. That helps explain the negative reaction to the earnings report.

Howard Smith has positions in Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

On its third quarter of 2026 earnings call, held on Oct. 21, 2026, Tesla (TSLA -2.12%) announced that vehicle demand exceeds production capacity. Automotive order backlogs reached their highest level in four years. Full self-driving (FSD) software subscriptions build a growing source of recurring revenue. Three key takeaways from the call highlight where the business is heading.

1. Scaling Autonomous Rides Demands Widespread Fleet ExpansionManagement is evaluating expansion paths for the Cybercab, the company's dedicated autonomous robotaxi, beyond its initial launch market in Austin, Texas. Investors should track how rapidly autonomous ride networks scale into new geographic territories, including Tesla's use of its Model Y vehicle to supplement the Cybercab.

There's no fundamental reason that we are limited to Austin. In fact, next month, we'll be launching in Dallas and then the same software just scaled to lots of other cities along with the Model Y robotaxis.
-- Ashok Elluswamy, Vice President of Artificial Intelligence2. Unsupervised Autonomous Driving Controls Long-Term Software ValueTransitioning driver-assist software into fully unsupervised vehicle operation unlocks substantial economic value for personal cars. Expanding software deployment across customer fleets accelerates recurring high-margin revenue.

We suspect somewhere around Q2 next year is when we can turn on some of the first customer vehicles to be part of the robotaxi fleet.
-- Ashok Elluswamy, Vice President of Artificial Intelligence3. Strategic Focus Excludes Business Combinations for NowInvestor attention stays focused on core automotive and energy operations rather than speculative corporate transactions. Management affirmed that potential corporate mergers with Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SPCX -7.54%), better known as SpaceX, the private aerospace manufacturer, are off the table for this discussion.

Prior to the earnings call, Elon Musk supported the idea of Tesla and SpaceX combining, and the two companies formed special committees to discuss a possible merger.

With regard to a potential merger with SpaceX, I think I said everything that should be said yesterday, tap-dancing through a minefield there. And yes, that's it.
-- Elon Musk, Chief Executive OfficerLooking AheadLeadership sets an ambitious path toward massive manufacturing growth and autonomous technology deployment. The company relies on structural advantages like in-house software integration, proprietary battery manufacturing, and widespread production scale, such as at its Fremont facility. This supports ambitions around its robotaxi business and upcoming Optimus humanoid robot.

I would expect that the AI, the electromechanical design, and the reliability and duration -- usage duration, like the usage life of the robot -- I expect, I do expect these issues to be solved around the end of next year. So that's the time to expect when we're delivering Optimus to companies outside of Tesla.
-- Elon Musk, Chief Executive OfficerManagement focuses on capital expenditures (capex), money invested in facilities and equipment, to expand computing capacity for AI, what the company calls super intelligence (SI). Expanding cash balances and strong operational cash flows support these multiyear technology initiatives.

Our capex for the next few years would continue to expand as we add more robotaxi fleet, we expand our production capacity for Optimus, install manufacturing capacity for solar, purchase additional SI compute infrastructure and build a semiconductor fab. This strategy will position the company for the next era of growth and disrupt many existing markets while creating new ones.
-- Vaibhav Taneja, Chief Financial OfficerThe Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

I'm downgrading Tesla, Inc., from Buy to Hold, with a reduced price target of $360 due to valuation concerns despite operational progress. Q3 2026 saw positive free cash flow, improved gross margins, and advances in FSD subscriptions, Robotaxi, Optimus production, and energy storage capacity. While TSLA's growth investments are materializing, earnings growth lags the valuation premium, with the stock trading at a 215x FWD non-GAAP P/E.

Meta (META) demonstrates robust AI-driven growth, but introduces a new share class to raise $100B+ for continued AI investment, pressuring shares. Tesla (TSLA) trims CapEx guidance citing efficiencies, while political dynamics accelerate potential SpaceX merger timelines.