A group of Tesla retail shareholders is pressing the company’s board, and the special committee reviewing a possible SpaceX merger, to get a deal done. Organizers say 6,493 people holding more than 17.5 million shares signed their letter in under 48 hours, TeslaNorth reports.
What the letter asks
The letter, signed by investors Alexandra Merz and Amy Steffens on behalf of the signers, asks the board to bring a combination to a shareholder vote “as soon as the terms are negotiated and documented.” It argues that each company covers the other’s weak spots: “Tesla needs chips and capital. SpaceX needs Megapacks for Colossus.” It points to joint projects such as Terafab and Digital Optimus, and asks the committee to weigh the Cybercab and Optimus ramps, Tesla’s stock price and internal revenue projections when it negotiates terms.
Timing and caveats
Steffens’ latest tally, posted Saturday evening, showed 17,528,859 shares, which she valued at $6.5 billion. The counts are self-reported through an online form and haven’t been independently verified. Merz said Sunday, October 25, is the last day to sign, and the letter is due to go to the board on Monday, October 26. Signing requires a name, home address and share count, which raised privacy questions among some shareholders.
Even at 17.5 million shares, the group holds a small slice of Tesla’s more than 3 billion shares outstanding. There’s no merger vote on the ballot for Tesla’s December 3 annual meeting. Musk said on SpaceX’s Q3 call that both companies had formed special committees to explore a merger, and that Tesla would need “a 50% vote of all shares.” Neither company has commented on the letter, and no terms have been announced.
Source: TeslaNorth.