A 68-year-old retiree bought 1,000 Tesla shares at $108 in January 2023. Musk could now merge Tesla with SpaceX by December, and a 15% premium would turn his stake into about 3,270 SpaceX shares.
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On January 3, 2023, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) closed at $108.10, its lowest level since August 2020 and a level below which it has not closed since. Take a 68-year-old retiree who bought 1,000 shares of stock that day for $108,100. On Thursday, those shares closed at $397.45 each, worth $397,450.
Now his Tesla shares could turn into something else. SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) and Tesla are moving forward in merger talks and could announce a deal as soon as December, Bloomberg reported Thursday afternoon, citing people familiar with the matter. Tesla closed up 1.7% at $397.45 and SpaceX at $139.94. After hours, Tesla was at $397.84 and SpaceX was at $141.58 as of 6:30 p.m. ET.
What was reported
The boards of directors of both companies and their advisors are working on the terms of the deal and how the combined company would be governed, according to Bloomberg. The announcement could also come in early 2027. Representatives for Tesla and SpaceX did not immediately respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.
The deal would be the largest ever. SpaceX has a market value of more than $1.9 trillion after its June IPO, and Tesla is worth about $1.5 trillion, Bloomberg said. One hurdle is how to isolate Tesla’s operations in China, given SpaceX’s U.S. government and defense contracts. In October, Musk said both boards had formed special committees made up of independent directors to consider merging the companies.
“It’s some kind of weird kabuki dance where two groups of people are talking and I can’t participate in the conversation,” Musk said in October, according to Benzinga.
What could become of his 1,000 shares
No conditions were agreed. Bank of America analyst Alexander Perry expects SpaceX to pay in stock rather than cash, BeInCrypto reported, so the number that matters to a Tesla holder is how many SpaceX shares each Tesla share buys. It depends on both stock prices and the premium paid by SpaceX.
At Thursday’s closing prices, one Tesla share was worth 2.84 SpaceX shares. His 1,000 Tesla shares would be about 2,840 SpaceX shares without any premium.
Barron’s used a 15% buyout premium in its own calculations, as Benzinga reports. At a 15% premium, each Tesla share would purchase 3.27 SpaceX shares. His 1,000 shares would become about 3,266 SpaceX shares, worth about $457,067 at SpaceX’s close on Thursday. At a higher premium of 25%, they would become about 3,550 SpaceX shares, worth about $496,812.
SpaceX’s slide works in its favor
SpaceX stock has fallen 12.2% since Oct. 21, the first trading day after Musk revealed the companies were exploring a merger. Tesla is up 2.8% over the same days. SpaceX closed at a record high of $201.80 on June 16, just after its IPO, and is now 31% below.
This gap changes the calculations. If SpaceX was still at its June high, a 15% premium would buy only 2.26 SpaceX shares per Tesla share, or about 2,265 per share of 1,000. At Thursday’s price, SpaceX would have to give up about 44% more shares to buy the same stake in Tesla. This is a good thing for Tesla holders and a reason why SpaceX holders could drive the price down.
Where she is today
Its shares gained $289,350, or 268%, or about 3.7 times its money. They are still 18.9% below Tesla’s closing record of $489.88 on December 16, 2025, when the same 1,000 shares were worth $489,880.
If she also has $600,000 in other retirement savings, Tesla represents about 40% of a $997,450 portfolio. Tesla doesn’t pay any dividends, so every dollar it spends on this stake must come from selling shares.
Voting is not a formality
Tesla shareholders must approve a deal with a majority of all outstanding shares, according to Barron’s, as reported by Benzinga. Shares that do not vote count against. Tesla’s annual meeting is scheduled for December 3.
Then there is the tax. Stock-for-stock mergers are often structured so that shareholders owe nothing at the time of the exchange, which matters to someone with a $289,350 gain in a taxable account. No terms have been announced, so this isn’t settled either. In an IRA, the swap would not be taxed in any way.
What she can do now
The cleanest choice is to wait for conditions. An announcement would name the exchange ratio, premium and tax treatment, and these three numbers would decide the value of one’s stake on the other side.
The other choice concerns size and does not depend on fusion. A single stock representing about 40% of a retirement portfolio represents a big bet, regardless of the company name on it. Reducing part of the position within an IRA costs nothing in taxes. In a taxable account, selling certain stocks now locks in a portion of the gain at today’s price, with the accompanying tax bill.
Regardless, Thursday’s report puts a date on a question Tesla holders have been asking since October: whether they will soon own a rocket company, too.
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