TLDR
- Tesla can now set standing voting instructions so retail shareholders automatically back board recommendations.
- Retail investors hold roughly 40% of tradable Tesla stock, about double the level of other big tech names.
- The change makes it easier to pass board-approved votes, including one on a possible Tesla-SpaceX merger.
- Tesla stock slipped 1.7% to $346.87 in early trading, while SpaceX rose 0.5% to $149.96.
- Cathie Wood believes a Tesla-SpaceX merger could be announced within the year.
Tesla stock dipped 1.7% to $346.87 in early trading Wednesday. SpaceX moved the other way, up 0.5% to $149.96.
The move came after Tesla rolled out a new voting option for retail shareholders. It lets them set standing instructions to automatically vote with whatever the Board of Directors recommends.
Shareholders can still override the preset vote at any time. But the default now favors the board.
Retail investors hold a big chunk of Tesla stock. Bloomberg data shows they control roughly 40% of the stock available to trade, about twice the level seen at other large tech companies.
That matters because retail votes can be hard to organize. This change gives Tesla an easier path to gathering them.
Why the Timing Matters
Institutional proxy advisors don’t always side with company boards. Both ISS and Glass Lewis recommended shareholders vote against Elon Musk’s proposed trillion-dollar 2025 pay package.
A more reliable retail voting bloc could help offset that kind of pushback going forward. It also raises the odds that future board-backed proposals get approved with less friction.
One of those future proposals could involve combining Tesla and SpaceX. Many investors and analysts already see the merger as close to inevitable.
What a Merger Could Look Like
Most expect any deal to be an all-stock transaction, with SpaceX paying a premium. A merger would require a Tesla shareholder vote to move forward.
Musk effectively controls SpaceX outright, so no shareholder vote is needed on that side. Tesla investors are the ones who would need to sign off.
Neither company responded to requests for comment on the voting update. That leaves the timing and intent open to interpretation for now.
The AI angle gives the merger story some logic. SpaceX runs AI data centers, and Tesla leans on AI to train robotaxis and humanoid robots.
The two companies are already working together on AI applications. They’re also building a shared semiconductor facility aimed at easing AI production bottlenecks.
ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood added fuel to the speculation Tuesday. Speaking on Moonshots Live, she said a Tesla-SpaceX merger could be announced within the year.
Wood described Musk’s broader goal as reaching Mars, with orbital data centers as a way to beat rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic on computing costs. She also repeated ARK’s long-standing forecast that Bitcoin will hit $1 million.
Wider market context stayed calm Wednesday. The S&P 500 was up 0.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1%.
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