New York, Jan 30, 2026, 15:06 EST — Regular session
Tesla Inc shares jumped roughly 4% to $433.83 in afternoon trading Friday following reports that SpaceX is considering deals that might shake up parts of Elon Musk’s business empire. The rally came as the broader tech sector faltered, with the Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 sliding about 1.2% and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust dipping around 0.4%.
Tesla’s shares remain driven largely by long-term bets on self-driving and robotics, not just vehicle sales. So any sign of increased computing power, sharper management focus, or fresh funding routes can send the stock moving fast.
This comes at a tricky moment for Tesla’s narrative. Car sales are cooling off, yet the company is pushing investors to focus beyond that, aiming instead at robotaxis and humanoid robots—ambitious goals with uncertain timelines.
Reuters reported that SpaceX is in talks to merge with xAI ahead of an anticipated IPO. Bloomberg News added that SpaceX is also weighing a merger with Tesla. “A single entity would help to further align his attention and ample resources to one company,” said Andrew Rocco of Zacks Investment Research. 1
Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management told Reuters on Thursday that it’s “highly likely” xAI will end up linked to one of the two major parties. Dennis Dick from Stock Trader Network warned that a key risk for Tesla is Musk spreading himself too thin. Reuters noted that neither Musk nor the companies responded to requests for comment. 2
Tesla’s latest quarterly report revealed a 3% drop in fourth-quarter revenue to $24.9 billion compared with a year ago. Automotive revenue slid 11%, while energy generation and storage jumped 25%. Net income attributable to common stockholders declined to $840 million, or 24 cents per share on a U.S. GAAP basis. Total vehicle deliveries fell 16% to 418,227 units. The company said it began testing driverless robotaxis in Austin last December and started removing the safety monitor from select customer rides in January. Tesla also announced a deal to invest about $2 billion in xAI, expected to close in Q1, and confirmed Cybercab, Tesla Semi, and Megapack 3 are still on track for volume production in 2026. 3
Yet the stock moves on headlines lacking concrete details. No terms have been disclosed, and big corporate deals often drag on for months—or quietly dissolve.
Execution risk is also a factor. Robotaxis and robots draw attention, require hefty upfront investment, and aren’t foolproof. Should the car market weaken more, the room for mistakes shrinks quickly.
Wall Street is closed for the weekend, so traders will be waiting on any official statements or filings that shed light on the progress of talks. The real test arrives Monday morning, Feb. 2, when the stock must maintain Friday’s gains without new momentum.
