约克，10月22日——据一位直接了解谈判情况的人士透露，埃隆·马斯克本周公开支持SpaceX与特斯拉之间可能达成的3.5万亿美元规模的合并计划，这一表态让参与谈判的部分内部人士感到不安。他们担心马斯克的言论可能会引发股东们的质疑，从而延缓合并进程数周。
YORK, Oct 22 - Elon Musk's public endorsement this week of a potential $3.5 trillion merger between SpaceX and Tesla has rattled some insiders involved in the discussions, who worry his comments could invite shareholder scrutiny and delay the process by several weeks, according to a person with direct knowledge of the talks.
这位人士表示，这一公开声明给整个合并进程带来了混乱，因为这可能会引发关于特斯拉股东利益能否得到充分保障的质疑。这些担忧源于一些参与者将此次合并与特斯拉2016年收购SolarCity的交易相提并论；那次收购曾因马斯克在交易中的角色而引发长达数年的诉讼。
The disclosure created a "mess" for the process, as it could lead to questions about how well Tesla shareholders' interests would be represented, the person said. The concerns reflect similarities some participants see with Tesla's 2016 acquisition of SolarCity, which sparked years of litigation over Musk's role in the deal.
马斯克同时担任SpaceX和特斯拉的首席执行官，并在两家公司都持有大量股份。本周他向投资者表示，这两家公司正在评估这项可能成为史上最大规模的企业并购交易，并透露双方都已成立了专门委员会来评估该交易的可行性。这是首次有媒体报道对这些言论所引发的强烈反对意见。
Musk, who serves as CEO of both SpaceX and Tesla and owns significant stakes in each company, this week told investors that the two companies were examining what would be the largest corporate transaction in history and revealed that both had formed special committees to evaluate it. The backlash to those remarks is reported here for the first time.
据三位熟悉此事的消息人士透露，相关各方已聘请了法律顾问，但谈判仍处于初期阶段。据该人士称，SpaceX最近主动联系了特斯拉，双方正在讨论多种交易方案，包括SpaceX收购特斯拉，或者通过一家新成立的控股公司来实现合并。他们还在考虑不同的合并形式，其中包括完全以股票形式完成交易。这些谈判的细节此前从未被公开过。
The parties have hired advisers, but discussions are at an early stage, three sources familiar with the matter said. SpaceX approached Tesla in recent weeks, and the companies have been discussing a range of transaction structures, including a SpaceX acquisition of Tesla or a merger under a newly formed holding company, the person familiar with the matter said. They are weighing different forms of merger consideration, including an all-stock deal, the person said. These details of the talks have not been previously reported.
特斯拉、SpaceX以及马斯克均未对记者的评论请求作出回应。
Tesla, SpaceX and Musk did not respond to requests for comment.
关于特斯拉收购SolarCity交易的股东诉讼：在类似SpaceX与特斯拉之间的关联交易中，独立董事会成员通常会监督整个交易过程，以确保公众股东的利益得到保护。
SHAREHOLDER LITIGATION OVER TESLA'S SOLARCITY DEAL In related-party transactions such as a SpaceX-Tesla merger, independent board members typically oversee the process to safeguard public shareholders' interests.
这一问题在特斯拉2016年收购SolarCity一案中显得尤为突出，该交易引发了长达数年的诉讼，股东指控这位世界首富影响了收购流程，以挽救他在陷入困境的屋顶太阳能公司的投资。当时，马斯克同时持有特斯拉和SolarCity约22%的股份，后者由他的堂兄弟创立。
That issue loomed large in Tesla's 2016 acquisition of SolarCity, which triggered years of litigation after shareholders alleged the world's richest man had influenced the process to bail out his investment in the struggling rooftop solar company. At the time, Musk owned roughly 22% of both Tesla and SolarCity, which was founded by his cousins.
股东辩称，马斯克的介入和公开支持破坏了交易的公平性。案件的核心在于，尽管马斯克仅持有少数股权，但由于他与董事会成员的关系及其强势作风，他被视为特斯拉的控股股东。
Shareholders argued that Musk's involvement and public support undermined the deal's fairness. Central to the case were claims that despite his minority stake, Musk was a controlling shareholder of Tesla due to his ties to board members and domineering style.
特拉华州最高法院后来指出，原告主张缺乏独立委员会，加上“关于马斯克参与并公开支持该交易的其他若干事实”，足以认定存在不公平交易行为。
The Delaware Supreme Court later noted that plaintiffs' contention of the absence of an independent committee, together with "certain other facts concerning Musk's involvement in and public support for the transaction," warranted the finding of unfair dealing.
法院最终认定该收购公平合理，但案件耗时数年才尘埃落定，特斯拉董事为和解指控支付了6000万美元。
The courts ultimately upheld the acquisition as fair, though it took several years for the case to be resolved and Tesla directors settled allegations for $60 million.
马斯克不得参与谈判 马斯克持有特斯拉近五分之一的股份，以及SpaceX略低于一半的股份，分析师表示，合并将使他控制合并后的实体。在周二与投资者的电话会议上，马斯克承认，作为利益冲突方，他不能参与特别委员会的讨论。知情人士透露，顾问团也在与其律师联系，以确保马斯克从合并谈判中回避。
MUSK CANNOT BE INVOLVED IN TALKS Musk owns nearly a fifth of Tesla and just under half of SpaceX, and analysts have said a merger would give him control of the combined entity. On Tuesday's call with investors, Musk acknowledged that as a conflicted party he cannot be part of the discussions of the special committees. Advisers are also in contact with his lawyers to ensure Musk is recused from the merger discussions, the source familiar with the talks said.
哥伦比亚大学法学教授埃里克·塔利表示，合并可通过消除马斯克在两家公司之间分配精力的需求，使股东受益。他补充称，由于特斯拉现已在德克萨斯州而非特拉华州注册，任何法律挑战的结果可能比SolarCity案更难预测。
Eric Talley, a law professor at Columbia University, said a merger could benefit shareholders by eliminating the need for Musk to divide his time between the two companies. He added that any legal challenge may be harder to predict than the SolarCity case because Tesla is now incorporated in Texas rather than Delaware.
“得州这件事是个变数。没人知道得州会如何处理此类案件，因为得州从未处理过此类案件，”Talley表示，并指出得州一直试图将自己塑造为特拉华州的商业友好型替代方案，而Musk迄今的言论未必构成问题。他最终表示，诉讼风险将取决于任何交易的条款。
“The Texas thing is a wild card. No one knows how Texas deals with cases like this because Texas never dealt with cases like this,” Talley said, noting that Texas has sought to establish itself as a business-friendly alternative to Delaware, and Musk’s comments so far were not necessarily problematic. Ultimately, he said, litigation risk would hinge on the terms of any transaction.
“谁会在这笔交易中占到便宜？这通常就是诉讼的起因，”Talley说。
"Who's going to get the better side of this deal? And that's usually what gives rise to litigation," Talley said.
Musk的言论可能影响讨论 参与该过程的人士担心，Musk公开支持合并并披露谈判，可能会加剧投资者的审查，因为利益相关方通常在独立董事评估交易期间避免公开表态，该消息人士表示。
MUSK'S COMMENTS COULD AFFECT DISCUSSIONS People involved in the process worry Musk's public endorsement of the merger and disclosure of talks could intensify investor scrutiny, as interested parties typically avoid expressing views publicly while independent directors evaluate a deal, the source said.
SolarCity案件可能成为投资者和法院评估任何未来SpaceX-Tesla交易的参考点，如果顾问未能完全将特别委员会与Musk的影响力隔离开来，该消息人士补充道。
The SolarCity case could become a reference point for investors and courts assessing any future SpaceX-Tesla transaction if advisers fail to fully insulate the special committees from Musk's influence, the source added.
Tesla与SpaceX的合并将是历史上最大的交易，将创建世界上最大的工业和科技集团之一。这笔交易将超过Musk今年早些时候通过SpaceX收购其人工智能公司xAI的交易，后者位列有史以来最大规模的企业交易之一。
A tie-up between Tesla and SpaceX would be the biggest deal in history, creating one of the world's largest industrial and technology groups. It would surpass Musk's acquisition earlier this year of his artificial intelligence company xAI by SpaceX, which ranks among the largest corporate transactions ever announced.
如此规模的交易还将面临全球监管机构的审查，尤其是考虑到Tesla在中国的业务以及SpaceX在美国国防和人工智能领域的工作。
A deal of this size would also face scrutiny from global regulators, especially due to Tesla’s business in China and SpaceX’s work in US defense and AI.