> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://brief.sharpertrades.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # SpaceX Ownership Surge and Tesla Merger Speculation Put Musk’s Two Stocks on the Same Radar - URL: https://brief.sharpertrades.com/spacex-ownership-surge-and-tesla-merger-speculation-put-musks-two-stocks-on-the-same-radar/ - Published: 2026-08-17T23:46:56.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-17T23:46:56.000Z - Description: SpaceX rallied as major institutional holdings came into view, while Tesla increasingly traded alongside Musk’s space and AI company as investors weighed merger speculation, AI ambitions and billions of shares scheduled to unlock. - Author: Luca Moschini - Tags: Business Trends, Price Action, Innovation & Tech ### SpaceX’s shareholder reveal adds a new dimension to the Tesla connection SpaceX (SPCX) gained 4.5% Monday to close at $146.23, extending its recovery from below $105 in July and approaching the roughly $150 level of its first public trade. The move came as regulatory filings provided the first broad look at the company's post-IPO ownership, revealing large positions held by Alphabet, Fidelity, Nvidia, sovereign wealth funds and other major investors. At the same time, Tesla (TSLA) is becoming increasingly connected to the SpaceX story. The two stocks have moved in the same daily direction about two-thirds of the time over the past several weeks as speculation about a potential combination grows. SpaceX's staged post-IPO share unlocks add another variable, with hundreds of millions of shares becoming eligible for trading in the coming weeks. --- ### Key Points - SpaceX gained 4.5% Monday to $146.23 as regulatory filings revealed major holdings from Alphabet, Fidelity, Nvidia, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors. - About 319 million additional SpaceX shares are scheduled to become eligible for trading on Aug. 20, with billions more expected to unlock through year-end. - Tesla and SpaceX have moved in the same daily direction roughly two-thirds of the time over recent weeks as Wall Street increasingly discusses the possibility of combining Musk's companies. --- ## SpaceX’s Ownership Reveal Shows Who Is Behind the Stock The latest regulatory filings offer the first broad picture of SpaceX's shareholder base since its June 12 public debut. More than 1,500 investors disclosed positions, but ownership is highly concentrated. Just 23 holders account for more than 80% of the reported shares, while nearly 1,340 investors with positions below 100,000 shares collectively account for less than 1%. **Alphabet (GOOGL)** disclosed more than 551 million shares, valued at roughly $77 billion based on Friday's price. **Fidelity** reported approximately 303 million shares, **Gigafund** about 172 million and **Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund** roughly 154 million. **Nvidia (NVDA)** disclosed approximately 123 million shares, worth about $17.2 billion. The position represents just under 1% of SpaceX shares outstanding. Other notable institutional investors include **BlackRock**, Baillie Gifford and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. Fidelity, BlackRock, Baillie Gifford and Ontario Teachers collectively hold more than 455 million shares. **Harvard Management Co.** disclosed almost 13 million SpaceX shares, making SpaceX its largest individual position within its publicly disclosed U.S. equity portfolio. Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) also disclosed 5.66 million shares valued at roughly $966 million as of June 30\. The position represented approximately 33% of Intesa's disclosed $2.92 billion U.S. stock portfolio. The disclosures do not necessarily represent recent purchases. Some investors held SpaceX before the IPO and are appearing in public quarterly filings now that the company trades publicly. Elon Musk remains the dominant shareholder. He controls approximately 6.4 billion shares, representing 48.4% of SpaceX stock outstanding. The ownership picture therefore combines significant institutional participation with unusually concentrated control. ## Can Institutional Demand Absorb SpaceX’s Coming Share Unlocks? The next test is supply. SpaceX sold roughly 556 million shares to the public in its June IPO, plus another approximately 83 million through a broker over-allotment option. That represents only a fraction of the company's roughly 13.2 billion shares outstanding. Early shareholders and insiders were restricted from immediately selling much of their stock, but SpaceX structured those restrictions so shares become eligible for trading in stages. Approximately 912 million shares became eligible earlier in August. Instead of falling under the additional supply, SpaceX gained 6% on Aug. 6 and another 16% the following day. That first major unlock occurred after the stock had already fallen dramatically. SpaceX had declined from an intraday high above $225 to below $105, losing more than half its value from peak to trough. The next unlock arrives under different conditions. Approximately 319 million additional shares are scheduled to become eligible for trading on Aug. 20 after SpaceX rebounded roughly 40% from its lows. More than 700 million shares are expected to unlock in September, followed by more than 650 million in October. The supplied reports differ on the exact year-end total, placing it between approximately 4.2 billion and 4.9 billion newly tradable shares. Either figure represents a substantial expansion in available supply relative to the relatively small number of shares initially sold publicly. SpaceX nevertheless enters the next unlock with stronger recent price action. Shares rose 23% during the week of the company's Aug. 4 earnings report and another 5% the following week after four consecutive weekly declines. Monday's 4.5% gain brought the stock to $146.23, close to the roughly $150 price of its first public trade. The interaction between additional supply and institutional demand is therefore becoming an important part of the SpaceX stock story. ## Why Are SpaceX and Tesla Stocks Becoming More Closely Connected? SpaceX's public listing has introduced another factor into the investment case surrounding Tesla. Tesla and SpaceX have moved in the same daily direction about two-thirds of the time over the past several weeks. Both entered Monday after two consecutive weekly gains. Before that, Tesla had declined for three straight weeks while SpaceX had fallen for four. One explanation cited in the supplied material is increasing Wall Street speculation that the companies could eventually combine. RBC analyst Tom Narayan wrote that a potential SpaceX-Tesla combination could represent a compelling strategic and financial proposition for Tesla shareholders. The rationale centers partly on the businesses' overlapping AI ambitions. SpaceX combines Starlink connectivity with its rocket, satellite and AI operations, while Tesla's physical-world AI efforts include robotaxis and robots. Narayan described a possible combination as creating an integrated ecosystem connecting Starlink, Tesla's physical-world AI and SpaceX's orbital computing infrastructure. ARK Invest Chief Futurist Brett Winton has separately said that a merger could be announced this year. ARK holds shares of both companies. There is no confirmation in the supplied information that a transaction will occur, and its timing or structure cannot be predicted. But the speculation appears to have become part of Tesla's market narrative. Tesla closed Monday down 0.9% at $339.30 even after a report said the company was planning to launch its purpose-built Cybercab robotaxi during the month. SpaceX, by contrast, gained 4.5%. The divergence shows that the stocks do not move together every day. But the increasing correlation suggests SpaceX developments have become another factor investors are considering when evaluating Tesla price action. --- ## What It Means for Investors SpaceX's first months as a public company have created two distinct market signals. The first is institutional ownership. Alphabet's roughly 551 million shares, Fidelity's approximately 303 million, Nvidia's approximately 123 million and other major disclosed positions show that SpaceX entered public markets with substantial exposure among large corporate, institutional and sovereign investors. The second is supply. SpaceX's IPO placed only a relatively small portion of its outstanding shares into public trading. The staged unlock schedule is gradually changing that structure, potentially making billions of additional shares available. The first large unlock did not produce the selling pressure investors feared. But it occurred after SpaceX had already declined from above $225 to below $105\. Upcoming unlocks are arriving after a substantial rebound. For Tesla, the emergence of SpaceX as a publicly traded company creates a new source of investor attention. Speculation surrounding a possible merger means developments at SpaceX can increasingly influence how investors interpret Tesla's longer-term strategy, particularly around AI. That does not make a merger inevitable. The supplied information confirms only that analysts and investors are discussing the possibility. The distinction matters: SpaceX's institutional ownership and scheduled share unlocks are observable developments. A Tesla-SpaceX combination remains speculation. ## Conclusion SpaceX's ownership disclosures help explain why the stock continues to command significant attention despite its extreme post-IPO volatility. The shareholder list includes some of the world's largest technology companies, investment managers, sovereign investors and institutional portfolios. At the same time, Musk controls nearly half the company, and ownership outside his position remains highly concentrated. The next challenge is whether demand can continue absorbing a steadily expanding supply of tradable shares. Another 319 million shares are scheduled to become eligible on Aug. 20, followed by additional tranches through the fall. Tesla adds another layer to the story. The two Musk-led companies have increasingly traded in the same direction, while Wall Street speculation about a potential combination has made SpaceX developments relevant to Tesla investors as well. For now, however, the two narratives remain different. SpaceX faces the immediate test of post-IPO supply and demand. Tesla faces an increasingly complicated market narrative in which its own robotaxi and AI developments now compete for attention with speculation surrounding Musk's other publicly traded company. --- ## FAQs ### Why did SpaceX stock rise Monday? SpaceX gained 4.5% to $146.23 as investors digested regulatory filings revealing substantial holdings by major institutions and corporations while the stock continued recovering from its July decline below $105. ### Who are some of the largest disclosed SpaceX shareholders? Alphabet disclosed more than 551 million shares, Fidelity approximately 303 million, Gigafund about 172 million, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund roughly 154 million and Nvidia approximately 123 million. Elon Musk controls about 6.4 billion shares, or 48.4% of the company. ### How many SpaceX shares are scheduled to unlock? Approximately 319 million shares are scheduled to become eligible for trading on Aug. 20, following roughly 912 million earlier in August. More than 700 million are expected in September and more than 650 million in October. Supplied reports place the year-end unlock total between approximately 4.2 billion and 4.9 billion shares. ### Why are Tesla and SpaceX stocks becoming more connected? The stocks have moved in the same daily direction roughly two-thirds of the time over recent weeks as investors increasingly discuss a possible combination of the Musk-led companies and their overlapping interests in AI. ### Is a Tesla-SpaceX merger confirmed? No. The supplied information describes analyst and investor speculation about a potential combination, including commentary from RBC and ARK Invest, but does not establish that a merger has been agreed upon or will occur. *This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor. 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