Elon Musk biographer says major Tesla merger could be imminent: 'I think it's going to happen'

Robert Crow

Sat, Jun 14, 2025, 5:30 AM 2 min read

Could Tesla eventually merge with another of Elon Musk's companies, xAI? A prominent insider thinks such a move is increasingly likely.

Walter Isaacson, the prominent Musk biographer who has received unprecedented access to Tesla's CEO, recently said he expects the two companies to eventually merge, Not a Tesla App reported. During a CNBC interview, Isaacson said combining Tesla and xAI would ultimately better serve each company's mission.

"I think it's going to happen," Isaacson said, per Investing.com. "Because Musk, even in my book when he's starting xAI, [was] talking about [how] these chatbots are fine, but what you need is real-world AI. You need to be able to not only take all the texts and tweets that have ever been written, but all the videos from Teslas and all the Optimus robot [is] seeing and hearing."

Tesla was a pioneer in electric vehicles and still has the top-selling vehicles in the space — although its sales numbers have dipped this year. But Musk has repeatedly said that the future of the company is tied in more than just cars, including "vast numbers of autonomous humanoid robots."

That makes xAI seem like a natural partner for Tesla. It is behind the artificial intelligence assistant Grok, which will reportedly power Tesla's upcoming smart assistant. Musk has also said he expects Grok to be incorporated into Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots, with hopes of sending them to Mars in the near future.

In May, Musk said in a CNBC interview, per Business Insider, that "there are no plans" to merge the companies, but that "it's not out of the question."

Tesla's sales may have had a bumpy start to the year, but there's no denying the role it has played in bringing millions of cleaner cars onto roads around the world. Studies have shown that driving an EV can reduce carbon pollution by two-thirds compared to gas-powered cars.

EVs can be even greener when paired with a renewable energy source for charging, such as solar. In addition, if you have solar panels, that energy is considerably cheaper than relying on the grid or public charging stations.

EnergySage allows homeowners to save thousands on solar-panel installation costs by comparing quotes from local, vetted installers. And if the upfront costs of solar are too daunting, Palmetto's LightReach program allows people to lease solar panels, providing locked-in, low energy rates, and a lower carbon footprint, with no down payment.