Tesla (TSLA, Financials), the electric vehicle and energy company, sparked fresh merger speculation after CEO Elon Musk said its operations increasingly overlap with SpaceX.
During Tesla's results call, Musk pointed to increasing cooperation between the firms but said an earnings call was not the right place to discuss a potential transaction.
Tesla already provides batteries and manufacturing technology for some SpaceX projects. The companies are also collaborating on Terafab, a planned semiconductor factory that would manufacture AI devices.
Proponents of the deal say the combined corporation could build a more integrated platform across artificial intelligence, robotics, energy, manufacturing and space infrastructure.
Some analysts think the companies are moving toward an eventual deal. They point to a shared engineering skill, AI infrastructure and Musk's leadership at each.
But any combination of those would still face major hurdles.
Regulatory approvals could be a tough sell, especially in China, given SpaceX's work with the U.S. government. Governance is also complicated by Musk having a bigger voting share in SpaceX than in publicly listed Tesla.
investors will be looking for a formal proposal or for further specifics on how the companies are planning to expand their operational relations.