Musk Denies Tesla Explored Selling China Business

Elon Musk rejected a recent report that Tesla had explored selling or separating its China business to clear the way for a potential merger with SpaceX. Musk called the account “fabricated” and added that such plans never entered internal discussions. He urged skepticism toward unverified reports.

The report said company executives had discussed structuring Tesla’s U.S. and China operations so they could be separated if needed, a detail linked to speculation about combining the two firms.

Tesla’s China operations include Gigafactory Shanghai, which supplies vehicles to Chinese buyers and to export markets. Quarterly filings list China among Tesla’s largest markets. In its most recent quarter, Tesla reported production of more than 450,000 vehicles and deliveries exceeding 480,000 vehicles.

Speculation about a merger accelerated after SpaceX’s public offering raised about $75 billion at a reported $1.75 trillion valuation. Musk has projected SpaceX could reach about $1 trillion in annual revenue by 2030; an estimate from Morgan Stanley put that figure near $330 billion.

Investor Steve Eisman described a merger as plausible but questioned whether buying Tesla would benefit SpaceX shareholders, citing Tesla’s recent weaker earnings, the electric-vehicle market’s capital intensity and competition from lower-cost Chinese automakers.

Both companies hold bitcoin on their balance sheets. Disclosures show SpaceX holds 18,712 BTC and Tesla holds 11,509 BTC, a combined 30,221 bitcoin under a hypothetical single corporate structure.

Any change to Tesla’s China setup would affect production, exports and revenue streams and could involve operational and regulatory issues in both China and the United States.

Recent market volatility has affected both companies’ valuations and remains a factor in Musk’s reported net worth. The public dispute over the report drew fresh investor attention to Tesla’s China operations and to how Musk manages multiple large businesses.