Key Highlights

● Tesla closed at $374.58 on October 22 as SpaceX merger comments drew attention.

● Musk said both companies formed special committees to discuss the idea.

● Neither company has announced any agreement.

● SpaceX closed at $144.75, giving back over half of Wednesday's gain.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stayed among the most talked-about stocks on the Nasdaq-100 on Thursday, October 22, 2026, as Elon Musk's comments about a possible combination with SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) drew as much attention as the electric-car maker's quarterly numbers. Tesla shares fell, closing at $374.58, while SpaceX's stock also slid.

What Musk said

Speaking on SpaceX's earnings call, Musk said: "Both SpaceX and Tesla have formed special committees to discuss this idea."

Special committees are typically made up of independent directors and are used when a transaction involves potential conflicts of interest, such as a deal between two companies led by the same person. Their formation does not mean a deal will happen, and neither company has announced any agreement.

Musk also appeared to signal that he had little more to add. "I think I said everything that should be said yesterday, tap-dancing through a minefield there," he said.

The topic surfaced in analyst notes too. CLSA upgraded Tesla to Hold from Underperform and raised its price target to $400 from $310, a move tied to merger sentiment.

Tesla's own quarter

The merger talk came alongside Tesla's third-quarter results, released after Wednesday's close. Adjusted earnings of 48 cents a share beat estimates of 43 to 45 cents, while revenue of $28.05 billion was flat from a year earlier. Net income fell to $787 million.

Tesla cut its 2026 capital spending plan to about $20 billion from more than $25 billion, while planning higher outlays in 2027 and 2028 on Optimus, Cybercab and Terafab. Musk said Optimus could ship to outside customers by the end of 2027.

Tesla traded around $365.77 before the opening bell, rallied to about $387.67 in the morning as seven firms raised their targets, then faded into the close.

SpaceX gave back gains

SpaceX, which listed this year, closed at $144.75, giving back more than half of its post-earnings gain from Wednesday. Volume reached 193.8 million shares, nearly twice its average.

Its quarter showed rapid growth: revenue more than doubled to $14.6 billion, and its "Super Intelligence" division brought in $7.6 billion. Capital spending reached $19.6 billion. The stock also faces a lockup expiry covering about 911.5 million insider shares, while market data put the figure as high as 1.3 billion. The shares are trading below their IPO price.

The backdrop

Both stocks were caught in a broad AI and tech selloff triggered by heavy spending plans and negative free cash flow at Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), plus cautious guidance from Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX). The Nasdaq Composite fell 694.00 points to 26,008.86, its steepest drop since June 5. The Nasdaq-100 lost about $1.32 trillion in market value.

Money flowed instead to consumer staples, health care, utilities and homebuilders. About two of every three S&P 500 stocks rose, according to market reports, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 11.89 points to 52,867.98.

Tesla and SpaceX Await Committee Updates

Any formal update from either special committee would be the clearest signal on whether the combination idea advances. Until then, investors are likely to parse every comment from Musk and both boards. SpaceX's lockup expiry could add volatility to its shares. For Tesla, the Federal Reserve's October 28 decision and big-tech earnings from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) will shape the broader mood toward growth stocks.