A sleek electric car chassis suspended mid-assembly beside a towering rocket fuselage in a cavernous industrial hangar, wide shot from a low angle, cool blue overhead light mixed with warm amber sparks from welding in the distance, deep shadows across the polished concrete floor, shallow depth of field.

Tesla Eyes SpaceX Tie-Up as Car Business Stalls

By Oliver BennsOctober 22, 2026

Tesla and SpaceX have formed special committees to evaluate a potential merger, confirmed by Elon Musk after SpaceX's latest earnings. Tesla's third-quarter revenue was flat year-over-year, with automotive sales and deliveries both falling, though free cash flow surprised to the upside at $1.5bn and auto gross margins ticked up two points. The stock trades near 300 times earnings against an industry average closer to 17, leaving the robotaxi and Optimus programmes to justify the valuation while Waymo already runs 500,000 autonomous rides a week.

Meta Rides AI Ad Boom, Floats New Share Class

Meta's third-quarter revenue climbed 26% year-over-year to a record, with price per ad up 14% and ad impressions up roughly 10%. The company guided to continued strong growth into next year and unveiled plans for a new class of non-voting stock to help fund AI infrastructure, with full-year capex now pegged at $135bn to $145bn. Shares rose more than 3% after the report.

YouTube Laps Netflix as Streaming Growth Fades

Netflix revenue rose 12% to $12.9bn, its slowest pace in three years, down from 16% growth two quarters earlier. Shares fell 5%. YouTube now accounts for nearly 15% of US TV viewing time, almost double Netflix's share of under 8%, overtaking NBCUniversal and Disney to lead the category.