As speculation emerged that Tesla may separate its U.S. and China businesses, Elon Musk (일론 머스크) immediately denied it. On July 31, the electric-vehicle outlet InsideEV reported Musk wrote on social media platform X, “This has never even been discussed,” and called it “ridiculous fake news.”
The controversy intensified after the Wall Street Journal reported Tesla executives were instructed to prepare for a separation of the China business. Options mentioned were a spinoff, a sale and a shutdown, and an unconfirmed theory of a potential merger with SpaceX was cited as background.
The Wall Street Journal reported Musk had, for years, instructed the company to overhaul its organisation toward drawing a clear boundary between its U.S. and China businesses. It said the aim was to be able to sustain the U.S. business even if a geopolitical clash involving the United States and China occurs.
Tesla’s China business is a key pillar of the company’s automotive operations. The Shanghai Gigafactory serves the domestic Chinese market and also acts as a major export hub sending vehicles to Europe, Canada and other destinations.
A merger theory involving SpaceX has been discussed on Wall Street for months. Musk is chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, and earlier this year he merged xAI and SpaceX to launch a company valued at $1.5 trillion.
SpaceX’s status as a U.S. defence contractor is also cited as a variable. That is the background for observations that separating Tesla’s China business could ease such concerns. Musk did not respond to the SpaceX merger theory on a recent earnings conference call, and SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell did not deny the speculation in June.
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