Musk backs proposal to merge SpaceX and Tesla as SpaceX profit surges

American businessman Elon Musk has expressed support for a proposal to merge SpaceX and Tesla.

Speaking during a discussion to release financial results on Tuesday, he said combining the two companies would bring many benefits. He said a special committee of independent directors from both companies is studying a possible merger.

Musk said he would not take part in the discussions because of a conflict of interest, adding that the deal is not yet certain and would require broad support from Tesla shareholders.

When asked about this after SpaceX shares entered the market in July, Musk had not given a clear stance at the time.

According to the company, SpaceX earned a net profit of about $4.4 billion in the July-September period. In the same period last year, the company had posted a loss of nearly $1.1 billion.

The company's revenue grew by about 161 percent to reach nearly $14.6 billion. The company said agreements to rent out AI services and computing capacity helped boost profit, with revenue from its AI unit growing nearly ninefold to about $7.6 billion.

Musk said the company aims to bring an additional roughly 10 gigawatts of computing capacity online by 2027.