A 68-Year-Old Retiree Bought 1,000 Tesla Shares at $108 in January 2023. Now Musk Could Merge Tesla Into SpaceX by December, and a 15% Premium Would Turn Her Stake Into About 3,270 SpaceX Shares
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On Jan. 3, 2023, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) closed at $108.10, its lowest close since August 2020, and a level it has not closed below since. Take a 68-year-old retiree who bought 1,000 shares that day for $108,100. On Thursday those shares closed at $397.45 each, worth $397,450.
Now her Tesla shares may turn into something else. SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) and Tesla are making progress in merger talks and could announce a deal as soon as December, Bloomberg reported Thursday afternoon, citing people familiar with the matter. Tesla closed up 1.7% at $397.45, and SpaceX closed at $139.94. After hours, Tesla was at $397.84 and SpaceX at $141.58 as of 6:30 PM ET.
What was reported
The boards of both companies and their advisers are working out the terms of the deal and how the combined company would be governed, according to Bloomberg. The announcement could also slip into early 2027. Representatives for Tesla and SpaceX did not immediately respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.
The deal would be the largest ever. SpaceX has a market value of more than $1.9 trillion after its June initial public offering, and Tesla is worth about $1.5 trillion, Bloomberg said. One obstacle is how to wall off Tesla’s operations in China, given SpaceX’s U.S. government and defense contracts. In October, Musk said both boards had formed special committees of independent directors to consider combining the companies.
“It’s sort of an odd kabuki dance where two groups of people are talking and I can’t be in the conversation,” Musk said in October, according to Benzinga.
What her 1,000 shares could become
No terms have been agreed. Bank of America analyst Alexander Perry expects SpaceX to pay in stock rather than cash, BeInCrypto reported, so the number that matters to a Tesla holder is how many SpaceX shares each Tesla share buys. That depends on the two share prices and on the premium SpaceX pays.
At Thursday’s closing prices, one Tesla share was worth 2.84 SpaceX shares. Her 1,000 Tesla shares would be about 2,840 SpaceX shares with no premium at all.
Barron’s used a 15% takeover premium in its own math, as reported by Benzinga. With a 15% premium, each Tesla share would buy 3.27 SpaceX shares. Her 1,000 shares would become about 3,266 SpaceX shares, worth about $457,067 at Thursday’s SpaceX close. With a larger 25% premium, they would become about 3,550 SpaceX shares, worth about $496,812.
SpaceX’s slide works in her favor
SpaceX’s stock has fallen 12.2% since Oct. 21, the first trading day after Musk disclosed that the companies were exploring a merger. Tesla is up 2.8% over the same days. SpaceX closed at a record $201.80 on June 16, just after its IPO, and is now 31% below it.
That gap changes the math. If SpaceX were still at its June record, a 15% premium would buy only 2.26 SpaceX shares per Tesla share, or about 2,265 for her 1,000. At Thursday’s price, SpaceX would have to hand over about 44% more shares to buy the same Tesla stake. That is good for Tesla holders and a reason SpaceX holders may push back on the price.
Where she stands today
Her shares have gained $289,350, or 268%, about 3.7 times her money. They are still 18.9% below Tesla’s record close of $489.88 on Dec. 16, 2025, when the same 1,000 shares were worth $489,880.
If she also has $600,000 in other retirement savings, Tesla is about 40% of a $997,450 portfolio. Tesla pays no dividend, so every dollar she spends from this stake has to come from selling shares.
The vote is not a formality
Tesla shareholders must approve a deal by a majority of all outstanding shares, according to Barron’s, as reported by Benzinga. Shares that do not vote count against it. Tesla’s annual meeting is scheduled for Dec. 3.
Then there is tax. Stock-for-stock mergers are often structured so shareholders owe nothing at the moment of the swap, which matters to someone sitting on a $289,350 gain in a taxable account. No terms have been announced, so that is not settled either. Inside an IRA, the swap would not be taxed in any case.
What she can do now
The cleanest choice is to wait for the terms. An announcement would name the exchange ratio, the premium and the tax treatment, and those three numbers decide what her stake is worth on the other side.
The other choice is about size, and it does not depend on the merger. A single stock at about 40% of a retirement portfolio is a large bet whichever company name is on it. Trimming part of the position inside an IRA costs nothing in taxes. In a taxable account, selling some shares now locks in part of the gain at today’s price, with the tax bill that comes with it.
Either way, Thursday’s report puts a date on a question Tesla holders have been asking since October: whether they will soon own a rocket company too.
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I've been writing about stocks and personal finance for 20+ years. I believe all great companies are tech companies in the long run, and I invest accordingly.
