“In my opinion, 100%. It’s just a question of when,” says David Nicholson, chief technology advisor at market research firm The Futurum Group.

During Tesla’s earnings call on Wednesday, Musk said he had nothing further to add about the prospect of a merger but quipped: “I feel like I’m tap-dancing through a minefield.”

Musk said that calling the merger a certainty would be “overstating” things.

Tesla reported a slight drop in third quarter sales which came in at $28.05 billion compared with $28.1 billion at the same time last year.

The unveiling of the Tesla Roadster last week – a futuristic electric car powered by SpaceX rocket thrusters – served as a “symbolic embodiment” hinting at the two Musk companies merging, Nicholson said.

Musk, chief executive of both SpaceX and Tesla, said bringing the firms together would be beneficial given the work each does around chips, artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology projects.

Specifically, the deal would combine Tesla’s cars, robots and self-driving technology with SpaceX’s rockets, data centres, satellites and telecommunications operations.

The move could be a step towards Musk’s mission to build a self-sustaining city on Mars – a vision that has invited sceptics but also plenty of backers.

Over the past year, Musk has moved to consolidate his businesses, with SpaceX acquiring xAI and X, formerly Twitter, before going public this year.