Investor's Corner
Tesla (TSLA) blazes past $300 as it shrugs off criticism, focuses on Model 3 deliveries
Tesla stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) is on a rebound after falling more than 5% on Tuesday over news of the US Justice Department’s probe on Elon Musk’s now-infamous “funding secured” tweet last month. On Thursday, TSLA stock blazed past the $300 barrier once more, trading at $303.79 per share after the opening bell.
The recovery of the electric car maker’s stock did not happen overnight. Over the course of Wednesday’s trading, Tesla stock battled an initial drop before beginning a steady 4.93% climb back up to $299.02 per share. Quite surprisingly, Tesla’s strong recovery on Wednesday came amidst the release of negative stories about the company. Former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, for one, was featured on a CNBC Closing Bell segment, where he stated that Tesla was “headed for the graveyard” since it has “no tech advantage, no software advantage, (and) no battery advantage” over rival electric car makers.
AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson also aired his criticism of Elon Musk over his alleged “bait-and-switch” tactic for the $35,000 Standard range RWD Model 3, which is yet to be released. A study in the UK from the country’s Department for Transport further warned motorists that the increasing number of electric vehicles on roads would likely increase congestion and extend travel time.
Amidst the release of these criticisms were a vote of confidence for the electric car maker. In a note to Bernstein’s clients, analyst Toni Sacconaghi pointed out that Tesla’s vehicles, particularly the Model 3, would probably be unrivaled in the premium electric car segment for a while. Debunking a Tesla bear thesis which suggests that superior vehicles from more experienced manufacturers could easily eat into the upstart company’s market share, the Bernstein analyst stated that “there is no actual flood of competition coming,” and that the Model 3 “faces no credible competition whatsoever until 2020.”
Behind the criticism and the votes of confidence from Wall Street, Tesla also showed signs that it was addressing Elon Musk’s self-dubbed “delivery logistics hell.” Reports from the Tesla community suggest that across the United States and even in Canada, the company is now expediting the delivery process of the Model 3 to as many reservation holders as possible. Tesla is reportedly pushing deliveries so much that handovers are being conducted up to 10 p.m.
Frenetic delivery activity at Tesla’s south lot. Adjacent streets in the Fremont Industrial Complex are full of loaded carrier trucks, mostly clustered around motels. (Preparing for the next day long haul?) pic.twitter.com/TclbEvuohn
— ☮️ CYBER-DX (@AndreiBulu) September 19, 2018
As the third quarter approaches its final days, Tesla seems to be focusing on its fundamentals, particularly Model 3 production and deliveries. It remains to be seen how many vehicles the company would manufacture and deliver this Q3, but both CEO Elon Musk and board member Kimbal Musk have teased that Tesla’s numbers this quarter would be quite surprising.
Elon Musk, for one, noted in a letter to employees that Tesla would likely build and deliver “more than twice as many cars as (it) did last quarter.” In a segment of CNBC‘s Closing Bell, Kimbal Musk further stated that “it’s really gonna blow people’s minds how many Model 3s are gonna appear in America in just the next couple of weeks.”
As of writing, Tesla shares are up 1.24% at $302.74 per share.
Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.
Elon Musk
The Tesla and SpaceX merger everyone is talking about is quietly building
Tesla and SpaceX may be closer to merging than Wall Street or either company is admitting.
Elon Musk has reportedly discussed merging Tesla and SpaceX with people close to him, according to CNBC, which cited sources familiar with the conversation. Tesla employees have long expected such a transaction and the topic is openly discussed internally, according to internal sources. With SpaceX is days away from kicking off its Wall Street roadshow for what could be the largest IPO in market history, this would be the first time the company will have public market currency to execute a stock-for-stock deal with Tesla.
The financial logic for a merger would make sense. A combined SpaceX and Tesla would create a conglomerate spanning rockets, satellites, electric vehicles, AI infrastructure, and energy storage valued at roughly $3.35 trillion to $3.6 trillion based on SpaceX’s IPO target range and Tesla’s current market capitalization. The two companies are already more intertwined than most people realize. SpaceX bought $697 million worth of Tesla Megapack systems for xAI data centers and $131 million worth of Cybertrucks. Tesla invested $2 billion in xAI, which subsequently merged with SpaceX. Past transactions also include Tesla selling solar equipment and parts to SpaceX, and SpaceX helping with Cybertruck materials.
Will Tesla join the fold? Predicting a triple merger with SpaceX and xAI
Musk himself signaled where this was heading in November 2025 when he posted on X, “My companies are, surprisingly in some ways, trending towards convergence.” Tesla and SpaceX announced a joint semiconductor fabrication facility in Austin called Terafab on the Gigafactory Texas campus, covering two advanced chip factories, with one serving Tesla’s AI needs for vehicles and Optimus robots, the other targeting space-based data centers under SpaceX’s infrastructure vision.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives places the probability of a merger at 80% to 90% with a target completion in the first half of 2027. The mechanics of a deal became possible the moment SpaceX filed its S-1. Legal experts said a merger likely would not spark antitrust issues but would raise concerns among shareholders in each company, with questions around which company would be the parent, how a stock swap would take place, and who determines the appropriate price. Musk holds about 20% of Tesla’s equity but controls 85.1% of SpaceX’s voting power through a super-voting share class, meaning he would largely be negotiating the terms with himself.
Not everyone is convinced the timing is imminent. Traders on Kalshi place only 33% odds that a merger will happen before May 2027. The more immediate concern for Tesla shareholders is whether the SpaceX IPO pulls capital and Musk’s attention away from Tesla before any merger consolidates the upside for both.
What is clear is that the structural groundwork is already being laid. The Terafab announcement, the xAI merger, the shared supply chain, the cross-company balance sheet transactions, and now the IPO all point in the same direction. Whether the merger follows in 2027 or later, the two companies are already operating more like divisions of a single entity than independent competitors.
Elon Musk
SpaceX just filed for the IPO everyone was waiting for
SpaceX filed its public S-1, revealing $18.7 billion in revenue and billions in losses.
SpaceX publicly filed its S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 20, 2026, making its financial details available to the public for the first time ahead of what could be the largest IPO in history.
An S-1 is the formal document a company must submit to the SEC before going public. It includes audited financials, risk factors, business descriptions, and how the company plans to use the money it raises. Companies are required to file one before selling shares to the public, and it must be published at least 15 days before the investor roadshow begins. SpaceX had already submitted a confidential draft to the SEC in April, which allowed regulators to review the filing privately before it went public.
The S-1 reveals that SpaceX generated $18.7 billion in consolidated revenue in 2025, driven largely by its Starlink satellite internet division, which posted $11.4 billion in revenue, growing nearly 50% year over year. Despite that growth, the company lost about $4.9 billion in 2025 and has burned through more than $37 billion since its founding.
SpaceX just forced Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile to team up for the first time in history
A significant portion of those losses trace back to xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, which was recently merged into SpaceX. SpaceX directed roughly 60% of its capital spending in 2025 to its AI division, totaling around $20 billion, yet that division lost billions and grew revenue by only about 22%.
SpaceX plans to list its Class A common stock on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America leading the offering. The dual-class share structure means going public will not meaningfully reduce Musk’s control, as Class B shares he holds carry 10 votes per share compared to one vote for public Class A shares.
The company is targeting a raise of around $75 billion at a valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion, which would make it the largest IPO ever. The investor roadshow is reportedly planned for June 5.
Elon Musk
Tesla ditches India after years of broken promises
Tesla has ditched its plans to build a factory in India after years of failed negotiations.
Tesla’s long-running effort to establish a manufacturing presence in India is officially over. India’s Minister of Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy confirmed on May 19, 2026 that Tesla has informed authorities it will not proceed with a manufacturing facility in the country.
Tesla first signaled serious interest in India around 2021, when it began hiring local staff and lobbying the Indian government for lower import tariffs. The ask was straightforward: reduce duties enough for Tesla to test the market with imported vehicles before committing capital to a local factory. India’s position was equally firm, with an ask of Tesla to commit to manufacturing first, then receive tariff relief. Neither side moved, and the talks quietly collapsed.
Tesla to open first India experience center in Mumbai on July 15
India had offered a policy that would reduce import duties from 110% down to 15% on EVs priced above $35,000, provided companies committed at least $500 million toward local manufacturing investment within three years. Tesla declined to participate. The tariff standoff was only part of the problem. Analysts pointed to significant gaps in India’s local supply chain, inadequate industrial infrastructure, and a mismatch between Tesla’s premium pricing and the purchasing power of India’s automotive market as additional factors that made the investment difficult to justify.
First signs of an unraveling relationship came in April 2024, when Musk abruptly cancelled a planned trip to India where he was set to meet Prime Minister Modi and announce Tesla’s market entry. By July 2024, Fortune reported that Tesla executives had stopped contacting Indian government officials entirely. The government at that point understood Tesla had capital constraints and no plans to invest.
The more fundamental issue is that Tesla’s existing factories are currently operating at approximately 60% capacity, making a commitment to building new manufacturing capacity in a new market difficult to defend to investors. Tesla will continue selling imported Model Y vehicles through its existing showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, but local production is no longer part of the plan.