Top News

Tesla is reportedly preparing to separate its China business ahead of a possible SpaceX merger. Elon Musk has denied the report, calling it 'absurdly fake news.'

Tesla is reportedly preparing to separate its China operations from the rest of the company, a move that could clear the path for a potential merger with Elon Musk's other trillion-dollar venture, SpaceX, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. Musk has since dismissed the claims outright, calling them fabricated.

Tesla executives, according to the report, have been instructed to prepare for an actual separation of the company's China business, with advisers reportedly discussing multiple options, including a spinoff, an outright sale, or winding the operation down entirely.

Citing a person familiar with the internal talks, the report said executives have also discussed setting up an independent sales entity to manage exports out of the Shanghai Gigafactory, along with strict internal firewalls limiting how much access China-based employees have to other parts of the company. According to the report, Musk had reportedly instructed Tesla executives years ago to build what was described as a 'laser' separation between the company's American and Chinese operations, though it remains unclear how quickly any formal separation could actually happen, or whether the plans could still change.

Why SpaceX is part of the story