# SpaceX posts $4.4 billion profit on AI computing leases as Musk backs a merger with Tesla

Revenue rose 161% to $14.6 billion and Musk said both companies have formed special committees, while a Wall Street Journal report says he capped Starlink speeds for Ukrainian users.

- Published: 2026-10-21T05:06:44.357Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-10-21/spacex-posts-4-4-billion-profit-on-ai-computing-leases-as-mu
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: tech
- Sources: [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/10/21/elon-musk-says-spacex-and-tesla-exploring-largest-merger-in), [Euronews](https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/21/elon-musk-backs-spacex-tesla-merger-as-rocket-firm-turns-profit), [Globes (Hebrew)](https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001560243#utm_source=RSS), [Deutsche Welle](https://www.dw.com/en/elon-musk-ordered-a-slowdown-of-starlink-in-ukraine-report/a-79718899)

SpaceX reported a third-quarter profit of $4.4 billion, or 35 cents a share, reversing a loss a year earlier, as revenue rose 161% to $14.6 billion, [MarketScreener reported](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/spacex-quarterly-revenue-jumps-beats-estimates-as-ai-business-surges-ce785cd8dd8eff2c). The company had posted losses in recent quarters, [Euronews noted](https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/21/elon-musk-backs-spacex-tesla-merger-as-rocket-firm-turns-profit). Renting computing power to artificial intelligence (AI) companies drove the result. AI accounted for $16.4 billion of SpaceX's $19.6 billion in third-quarter capital spending. Its cloud customers include Anthropic, which agreed in May to pay nearly $45 billion over three years, and Google, which pays $920 million a month from October through June 2029.

Elon Musk, chief executive of both companies, said a merger between SpaceX and Tesla had "a lot of merit" because their AI work is complementary, [Al Jazeera reported](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/10/21/elon-musk-says-spacex-and-tesla-exploring-largest-merger-in). He said both boards had formed special committees, but he added that treating a deal as certain "would be overstating it." SpaceX shares rose 4.9% in extended trading.

The results lifted Asian markets. South Korea's main index rose about 4% on Wednesday morning and US futures traded higher after the SpaceX and Super Micro Computer results, [Globes reported](https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001560243#utm_source=RSS). Super Micro unexpectedly disclosed stronger revenue and profitability. Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley's chief US equity strategist, said the correction in the average stock is nearly over and that the S&P 500 could reach 8,500 by mid-2027, [Benzinga reported](https://www.benzinga.com/markets/prediction-markets/26/10/62475470/mike-wilson-market-correction-sp500-8500). The S&P 500 closed Tuesday at 7,712.57.

Musk's control of strategic infrastructure came under scrutiny on the same day. He "capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected" to Starlink, [Deutsche Welle reported, citing the Wall Street Journal](https://www.dw.com/en/elon-musk-ordered-a-slowdown-of-starlink-in-ukraine-report/a-79718899). A merged company would combine rocket launch, satellite communications, AI data centers and vehicles under one founder with that discretion.

## What this means

SpaceX's profit rests on long-term computing contracts with a small number of AI developers, so its revenue is only as secure as those customers' own access to capital. That access gets harder with 10-year Treasury yields above 5%. Today's result cuts against the thesis that AI infrastructure spending depends on debt, because the strongest builders are funding it from operating cash instead. The risk has moved to customer concentration and governance. A Tesla merger would put a related-party transaction before both companies' shareholders. Separately, the Starlink report will push European governments and Kyiv to fund sovereign alternatives such as the European Union's IRIS² constellation, because they cannot rely on a network one person can throttle. The desk's read is that the special committees will take months, and that SpaceX's valuation will in the meantime set expectations for Tesla's share price. The read would prove wrong if computing-lease revenue slows next quarter or a major customer renegotiates its contract, because either would show the AI build-out reaching its funding limit.

## What to watch

- SpaceX's next disclosure of computing-lease revenue and customer concentration. Slower growth would show the limit of AI lab budgets.
- Formal terms from the Tesla and SpaceX special committees. Exchange ratios and shareholder-vote requirements will decide whether a deal is feasible.
- Ukrainian and European government responses to the Starlink report. Funding commitments for alternative satellite networks would move defense procurement away from SpaceX.