The SEC clears Tesla's “vote with the board” program as SpaceX merger talk grows

On September 29, the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance issued a no-action letter, the same day Tesla asked for one, clearing Tesla's Issuer Voluntary Retail Voting Program.

How it works

Retail shareholders can opt in to have their shares voted automatically in line with the board's recommendations. They can choose to exclude contested director elections and mergers and acquisitions from the standing instruction. Retail investors hold an unusually large share of Tesla's float and historically vote at low rates, so the program could change outcomes on routine proposals.

The meeting that isn't scheduled

Tesla's last annual meeting was November 6, 2025. There is still no 2026 meeting date and no proxy filing. Under Texas law, where Tesla is incorporated, a shareholder can ask a court to order a meeting 13 months after the last one, around December 6, 2026.

And the merger talk

There is no announced Tesla–SpaceX merger. What exists:

• Tesla's roughly $2B investment in xAI (January 2026) became a SpaceX stake after SpaceX acquired xAI. SpaceX listed on June 12. The size of Tesla's stake hasn't been disclosed.
• On the July 22 call, Musk said any combination "has got to be done with the appropriate process."
• On the All-In podcast (released September 15) he said: "who can imagine what action one might take."
• The WSJ reported in July that Tesla was preparing options to separate its China business ahead of a possible merger. Musk called that "absurdly fake news."

Our read: this is the largest potential corporate event on the horizon and still entirely rumor. We'll label it that way until a filing says otherwise. The upcoming dates are on our calendar.