New York, May 27, 2026, 17:07 (EDT)
Talk of Elon Musk weighing a merger between SpaceX and Tesla is giving investors another angle on Boeing, right as the company is under pressure to show progress at its factories. CNBC said Tuesday that Musk has been speaking with associates about merging the two firms, which already overlap in personnel, board connections and engineering talent.
Timing is key here. SpaceX is moving toward an IPO—its first public share sale—just as Boeing looks to turn higher jet production into cash, following years of issues with safety, production, and its balance sheet. Even if Musk created a single group controlling rockets, Starlink internet, EVs, and AI, that wouldn’t make a dent in Boeing’s commercial jet business. But when it comes to space and defense, Boeing could feel more pressure.
Boeing was last seen at $224.30, up roughly 2.5%. Tesla changed hands at $440.36, good for a 1.6% gain. Both stocks moved after the U.S. regular session closed; Boeing got a lift as regulators appear to be allowing more production.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg on Wednesday said the company has bumped up 737 production to 47 jets a month, up from 42, after talks with the Federal Aviation Administration. “We’re off and rolling at the 47 rate,” Ortberg told a Bernstein conference. Boeing is also targeting 52 jets monthly early next year, with plans to launch a fourth 737 line in Everett, Washington. Reuters
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told Reuters he’s looking for the 737 MAX 7 to clear certification this summer, with the MAX 10 following before the year wraps up. “It’s important for the country that Boeing is successful,” Bedford said. Still, he emphasized, the FAA wants to see quality and safety coming off the line—not patched on after. Reuters
Boeing’s first-quarter results delivered a mixed bag. Revenue climbed 14% to $22.2 billion, but the company logged a core loss per share of 20 cents and burned through $1.5 billion in free cash flow. The backlog, though, hit a fresh record at $695 billion. Ortberg described the company as “building on our momentum.” Still, commercial airplanes remained in the red, with an operating margin of minus 6.1%. Boeing Investors
A Yahoo Finance-syndicated piece from 24/7 Wall St. cast Boeing as the big incumbent with the most at stake if Tesla and SpaceX ever joined forces. The article flagged Boeing’s broad exposure: Starliner, the Space Launch System, satellite work, national security launch deals, and United Launch Alliance—the joint rocket business with Lockheed Martin. It’s not about Tesla making airplanes, but rather, a Musk-led merger combining capital, software, battery tech, launch scale, and fast manufacturing right in the segments where Boeing has lagged or faced headwinds.
Here, the rivalry shows itself more sharply. On the commercial jet side, Boeing’s primary opponent is still Airbus. For rockets, Boeing faces off against SpaceX via United Launch Alliance—the venture it co-owns with Lockheed, described by Reuters as a rocket maker directly challenging SpaceX and handling U.S. government satellite launches.
SpaceX pulled the curtain back on its finances in a new filing, laying out details for investors. According to Reuters, the company’s IPO could value it around $1.75 trillion. For the first quarter, SpaceX posted an operating loss of $1.94 billion on $4.69 billion in revenue. Starlink turned a profit, but the AI business dragged, with a $2.47 billion loss, and xAI made up 76% of the company’s $10.1 billion in capex for the quarter. Musk keeps a firm grip on control, holding 85.1% of the voting power.
SpaceX’s latest filing makes the connection with Tesla tangible. Last year, SpaceX and xAI spent roughly $650 million on Tesla products and services, splitting out $506 million for Megapack batteries and $131 million for Cybertrucks. On the flip side, Tesla holds close to 19 million SpaceX Class A shares—less than 1% post-offering—after pouring in $2 billion earlier this year.
Dan Ives at Wedbush Securities is doubling down. He’s calling for a SpaceX-Tesla merger by 2027, pointing to what he describes as foundations already being set. After the SpaceX IPO filing, Ives told Business Insider, “We continue to believe that SpaceX and Tesla will eventually merge into one company in 2027 with the groundwork already in place.” His note also flagged Musk’s push “to own and control more of the AI ecosystem.” Business Insider
But so far, no Tesla-SpaceX tie-up has been made official, and the hurdles are significant. Legal and governance concerns abound: who ends up as the parent company, how any share exchange gets valued, what protections regular shareholders would have, plus the impact of Musk’s voting grip at SpaceX on public investor rights. Legal experts, according to Digital Today, flagged that questions about shareholder protections could overshadow antitrust worries if a deal moves forward.
Boeing faces a straightforward challenge right now: ramp up 737 production without new problems, push overdue certifications across the finish line, and start converting that hefty backlog into actual deliveries and, crucially, cash. As for the Musk merger chatter—so far, it’s just that, chatter. The speculation pops up as Boeing’s turnaround gains traction, but if SpaceX does hit public markets, it would do so while Boeing is still deep in the process of fixing its own operations.
