Silicon Valley tech guru Chamath Palihapitiya just floated one of the most entertaining ideas in modern finance:

SpaceX will not IPO.

Instead, it should merge into Tesla.

And once you let that thought enter your head, it’s hard to stop there.

Because if SpaceX can be folded into Tesla… why not everything else?

What if Elon Musk eventually consolidates all of his companies into one mega-entity?

Maybe even with one single ticker: ELON

It sounds ridiculous. It sounds like a meme.

But if anyone could do it… it’s Elon.

And he may have just tipped his hand yesterday.

Elon Doesn’t Think in Separate Companies

Yesterday in Davos, Switzerland, Elon was asked what his companies share in common from an engineering standpoint.

Elon decided to take a different approach to the question.

He didn’t talk about engineering. And he didn’t address any technical commonalities.

Instead, Elon spoke about how each company was a piece of one larger project.

“The overall goal of my companies is to maximize the future of civilization… basically maximize the probability that civilization has a great future and to expand consciousness beyond Earth.” – Elon Musk

That is not how a normal CEO talks.

That is how a person talks when they see everything they’re building as one connected machine.

In Musk’s mind, these are not disconnected entities.

They are interdependent components of the same long-term mission – each doing its part in achieving their collective goal of maximizing the future of civilization.

• SpaceX is about advancing rocket technology until humanity becomes multi-planetary.

• Tesla is about building a sustainable energy ecosystem and ultimately pushing robotics into everyday life.

• xAI serves as the core intelligent foundation that links all elements together.

Which brings us back to Chamath’s idea.

A SpaceX-Tesla merger sounds like a meme.

But the more you think about Elon’s incentives, the more you realize there are real reasons he should do it.

Reason #1: These Companies Are Already Interconnected

From a distance, SpaceX, Tesla, X, and xAI look like separate empires.

But operationally, they already function like a network.

• Tesla and SpaceX share board members, including Elon, his brother Kimbal Musk, and Antonio Gracias.

• xAI will soon be SpaceX's largest customer.

• SpaceX and The Boring Company both utilize Tesla’s battery technology.

• Tesla vehicles have integrated SpaceX’s Starlink connectivity.

• Musk has pulled Tesla engineers to work on X.

• xAI acquired X for $45 billion to help train its Grok AI chatbot.

• Tesla previously bought SolarCity, another Musk-owned company.

I could go on…

The point is these companies already share talent, engineering philosophy, and infrastructure.

So the “consolidation” idea isn’t really starting from scratch.

In many ways, Musk has already been operating them like they’re connected.

Combining them would just formalize it.

Reason #2: Elon’s New Pay Package

Elon recently signed a massive new compensation package that rewards him for hitting a series of aggressive performance targets.

But the biggest and most difficult one is the headline number: Tesla must reach an $8.5 trillion market cap.

And you don’t get there by simply selling more cars.

To justify a valuation that large, Tesla has to evolve into a much broader platform with multiple trillion-dollar business lines layered together.

Combining AI, robotics, space, autonomy, energy, and connectivity fits the bill.

Merging or consolidating pieces of the Musk ecosystem would be one of the fastest ways to expand Tesla’s ceiling and help Elon hit his ambitious performance targets.

Reason #3: Elon Loses Control in a SpaceX IPO

This might be the most important reason of all.

Elon is obsessed with control.

He didn’t fight for an insane pay package just because he wanted more money.

He wanted more influence.

He wanted to push his control of Tesla closer to 25%.

The problem with a SpaceX IPO is that it hands ownership and influence to outside shareholders with very different motives.

Most of them are not interested in “maximizing the future of civilization.”

They’re interested in maximizing next quarter’s returns.

They’ll pressure for financial targets. They’ll push for safer decisions. They’ll demand predictability.

But that’s not what SpaceX is about.

SpaceX is a moonshot company in the most literal sense.

A merger could help Musk maintain tighter control while still capturing public-market scale and access to capital.

Will We Ever See the Ticker ELON?

Of course, none of this means a Tesla-SpaceX consolidation is easy.

The financial logistics would be brutal.

SpaceX is reportedly eyeing a $1.5 trillion valuation. Tesla’s market cap itself is roughly $1.5 trillion.

Add xAI’s recent $250 billion valuation and you’re looking at a Musk ecosystem worth $3.25 trillion.

That’s roughly the size of France’s entire economy.

If Elon wanted to consolidate everything, he’d have to overcome some massive hurdles:

• Tesla shareholders would immediately ask why they’re taking on more complexity.

• Analysts would struggle to value the combined entity.

• Regulators would circle.

• The media would treat it like a circus.

• And the financial engineering alone would cause plenty of investors to flinch.

But here’s the thing.

Elon isn’t building these companies to make Wall Street comfortable.

He’s building them to execute a mission.

Based on what he said at Davos, he clearly views these businesses as part of one unified system designed to advance civilization.

And when you look at what he’s already pulled off – reusable rockets, mass-market EVs, autonomy, satellite internet, brain implants – it’s hard to bet against him pulling off one more difficult feat.

So while the idea of Elon combining his empire sounds crazy…

Just remember who we’re talking about.

Don’t bet against Elon.