SpaceX and Tesla merger may face antitrust review On October 23rd, according to the US financial media Semafor, Musk proposed a merger between Tesla (TSLA. O) and SpaceX (SPCX. O) this week. A former Justice Department official stated that the risk of triggering antitrust issues is real. The official pointed out that antitrust regulators consider such "vertical" mergers as promoting competition because they help improve supply chain efficiency; But if Tesla SpaceX is identified as a possible "vertical exclusivity" merger, regulatory authorities may try to block the merger. The official explained that "exclusivity" refers to a situation where a company uses its position to restrict its competitors at other levels of the supply chain. In this case, if only Tesla cars can use SpaceX's Starlink and other technologies in the future, other autonomous or electric vehicle manufacturers may suffer as a result. Of course, this depends on the terms of this currently hypothetical transaction. It also depends on how willing the US antitrust enforcement agencies, which are aligned with Trump's stance, are to conflict with Musk, the main donor to the Republican Party. Nevertheless, if the Democratic Party regains control of the House of Representatives next month, Musk will face an investigation by Congress - and lawmakers will closely scrutinize any moves he makes to merge his companies.