Fede Sandler
Former IRO at Mercado Libre/Nubank, Forbes Columnist
Tesla's standalone upside is less clear at today's prices because a potential SpaceX exchange hinges on the premium Tesla holders receive and their share of the combined value. If SpaceX keeps executing at this pace, its upside, or that of the combination, looks clearer than Tesla's standalone upside. Execution remains a risk, and the valuation already discounts considerable optimism. x.com
Tesla's redesigned Cybercab production is very under-appreciated and should drive a lot of bottom-line profit in the future. Per @elonmusk, Cybercab production was redesigned to run over five times faster than conventional automotive manufacturing. Per the @robotaxi account, its unboxed process assembles vehicle modules in parallel and frames the car in one step, halving line size and unlocking much greater production capacity. x.com x.com
SpaceX's near-term earnings growth and potentially underappreciated compute ramp favor it over Tesla if their merger takes longer. SpaceX could exceed $200 by Q4 earnings; if the deal is announced within roughly a month, Tesla is the better trade because SpaceX would have to pay a premium of $420-$500+ a share. Tesla's robotaxi and humanoid earnings impact is still many quarters away, though both companies have longer-term upside. x.com x.com
Tesla's aerial flips and wall-driving have little use for ordinary customers, making earnings from the demonstration hard to see and pointing to a lower share price. If the widely expected SpaceX merger is all-stock, a 10% lower Tesla price at signing would give Musk about 0.5 percentage points more of the combined company, at other Tesla shareholders' expense; he owns roughly 40% of SpaceX but 20% of Tesla. x.com x.com
SpaceX's orbital compute is a much bigger opportunity than Tesla's robotaxi, shifting merger gains toward Tesla holders over longer horizons. Robotaxi exceeds Starlink; Optimus needs more time and vast superintelligence. At today's share-price ratio versus no merger, Tesla holders are ~1.6x better off in 2031 and ~5x in 2036, versus ~2x and ~1.3x for SpaceX holders in the model. A roughly 30% Tesla premium balances 2031 gains; a roughly 50% Tesla discount balances 2036 gains. x.com x.com
Tesla's latest reveal has no financial viability for shareholders yet because anything like it may not reach roads before 2035. Like Optimus in 2021, it is cool but not viable yet. SpaceX shareholders should get Tesla at a bargain after Tesla takes a serious beating: Musk owns 49% of SpaceX and already controls its vote, so a depressed acquisition price would give them a better deal while consolidating his control. The merger looks like a matter of when, not if; its price is the question. x.com … Show more
Demand for a single way to invest in Musk's vision supports the case for a Tesla-SpaceX merger. Most investors spoken with want that option; the merger looks much closer than most expect, and Kalshi puts its chance before 2028 at 77%. If forced to own one of the two with a merger in prospect, SpaceX is preferable to Tesla because of Musk's ownership structure. x.com x.com
Keeping Tesla separate from SpaceX looks better for long-term shareholders because standalone businesses can receive more valuation credit. Tesla's stock trades on FSD and Robotaxi uptake and Optimus's intrinsic value, not Model Y sales or EV demand. Musk announced a committee to explore a merger, with a rumored $550-a-share takeout that would bring a quick pop. The chart targets $395, then $405, and $550 after a close above $440. x.com
Tesla's $1.5T Elon premium looks unjustified while Musk seems to favor SpaceX for the AI compute buildout. Tesla shareholders missed almost the entire AI boom; owning xAI and building that infrastructure might have doubled Tesla's stock. Q3 adjusted EPS was $0.48, down 4% year over year; if Tesla were a non-Musk company, four such quarters at 10x earnings would mean $19.20 a share versus $386. Long-term company prospects remain attractive, but the stock is still not worth buying back. x.com … Show more
Elon Musk's projected SpaceX revenue could make SpaceX and Tesla holders insanely rich. Musk predicts more than $2 trillion in SpaceX revenue by 2033; that could imply a combined value of $38 trillion for the two companies. x.com
Full integration with SpaceX could lift Tesla's value by removing related-party friction and sharing chips, compute and capital under one plan. Space would become a market for Optimus and energy storage. Tesla is significantly undervalued because the market gives too little credit to energy, autonomy, Robotaxi, Optimus and AI; SpaceX is equally undervalued. A no-premium merger of equals is fair while valuations remain comparable. No deal is announced; early next year looks most likely. x.com … Show more
SpaceX's projected growth is challenging the earlier overvaluation case, though the reassessment is still in progress. A VJN.ai chart projects revenue 273.3% higher by Q4 2027, even as the company is valued at $2 trillion. x.com x.com
