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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Short answer: Tesla makes most of its money selling and leasing electric vehicles and related automotive services, with a growing second business in batteries and energy systems. SpaceX makes money from launch and spacecraft-development work plus Starlink connectivity subscriptions and related services. On the 2025 segment figures reported by the companies, Tesla is substantially larger by revenue: its automotive and energy segments totaled $94.827 billion, compared with $15.473 billion for SpaceX’s Space and Connectivity segments. The companies are not merged, and the cited filings do not report Tesla owning SpaceX. Their practical connection is shared leadership under Elon Musk, affiliated-company dealings, and overlapping capabilities in advanced manufacturing, software, energy, communications and aerospace infrastructure.
Tesla and SpaceX at a glance
The companies operate in very different markets, so a simple revenue ranking does not tell the whole story. Tesla sells physical products and services directly associated with transportation and energy. SpaceX combines project-based aerospace work with a subscription-heavy communications network. The table below uses the companies’ reported 2025 segment figures.
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| Measure | Tesla | SpaceX |
|---|---|---|
| Reportable businesses used here | Automotive; energy generation and storage | Space; Connectivity |
| 2025 revenue | $82.056 billion automotive; $12.771 billion energy generation and storage (Tesla, Inc., 2025 Form 10-K) | $4.086 billion Space; $11.387 billion Connectivity (Space Exploration Technologies Corp., 2025 prospectus) |
| Combined revenue for the reported segments | $94.827 billion | $15.473 billion |
| Notable growth measure | Energy-generation-and-storage revenue rose 27% in 2025, primarily from higher Megapack and Powerwall deployments | Consumer-subscriber revenue growth reflected 99.9% Starlink-subscriber growth, partly offset by an 11.2% decline in subscriber average revenue per user |
| Customers identified in the filings | Vehicle buyers and lessees, service users, and purchasers or lessees of energy-generation and storage products | Consumers, enterprises, mobile-connectivity customers and governments for Connectivity; launch and development customers for Space |
| Operating-profit figure supplied in the cited material | Not stated for Tesla segments in the figures used here (Tesla, Inc., 2025 Form 10-K) | $4.423 billion Connectivity operating income; Space-segment operating income not stated in the cited figures (Space Exploration Technologies Corp., 2025 prospectus) |
These are segment figures for fiscal 2025, not a claim that the businesses have identical accounting boundaries. Tesla’s segment descriptions include several related activities, while SpaceX reports launch/development work separately from Starlink-led connectivity.
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1. Electric vehicles and automotive services
Tesla’s automotive segment is the company’s main source of revenue. Its 2025 Form 10-K defines the segment as the design, development, manufacturing, sales and leasing of electric vehicles, together with sales of automotive regulatory credits. That definition is broader than the price of a new car. It also covers used-vehicle sales, maintenance, collision work, paid Supercharging, insurance, parts and merchandise.
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Automotive-segment revenue was $82.056 billion in 2025. The number therefore combines vehicle transactions with the associated services and credits rather than representing vehicle unit sales multiplied by an average sticker price. Leasing contributes a different timing pattern from an outright sale, and services can continue after a vehicle has been delivered. Regulatory credits are another distinct source: Tesla can sell credits generated under vehicle-emissions or other regulatory programs, although the filing’s segment definition does not make them a separate headline revenue total in the figures cited here.
The service list matters when assessing Tesla’s business model. Maintenance and collision work create post-sale revenue; paid charging monetizes use of the company’s charging network; insurance, parts and merchandise add smaller, adjacent streams. None of those activities changes the central fact that automotive revenue is overwhelmingly larger than Tesla’s energy segment on the 2025 figures.
2. Energy generation and storage
Tesla’s second reportable segment covers the design, manufacture, installation, sales and leasing of energy-generation and storage products, plus financing, related services and sales of energy-generation incentives. The portfolio includes utility-scale battery systems such as Megapack and residential products such as Powerwall.
Energy-generation-and-storage revenue reached $12.771 billion in 2025, and Tesla reported that this was a 27% increase for the year. The filing attributes the increase primarily to higher Megapack and Powerwall deployments. That explanation points to a deployment-driven business: revenue can rise when more systems are installed, even though project timing, manufacturing capacity and customer financing can make individual quarters uneven.
Energy also has a different sales pattern from vehicles. A battery project may involve equipment, installation, financing and service over a defined delivery schedule. A Powerwall sale is a smaller site-level transaction, while Megapack deployments can be large projects. The segment therefore combines hardware, project execution and continuing services rather than relying on one standardized product transaction.
3. What Tesla’s mix means
For every dollar of the two Tesla segment revenues reported for 2025, approximately 87 cents came from automotive and 13 cents from energy generation and storage, using the reported figures without adding any unreported adjustments. Automotive scale gives Tesla a large installed base and a wide service footprint. Energy growth gives the company a second business whose demand is tied to electricity storage and generation infrastructure rather than vehicle deliveries.
The mix also creates different sensitivities. Automotive revenue depends on vehicle production, deliveries, leasing decisions, service usage and the availability or value of regulatory credits. Energy revenue depends more directly on product deployments, installation schedules, project financing and incentives. The 27% energy increase is a reported annual result, not a promise that the segment will grow at the same rate every year.
How SpaceX makes money
1. Launch and space-development services
SpaceX’s Space segment reported $4.086 billion in 2025 revenue. It includes launch services and launch-and-development work. The 2025 prospectus says growth in launch and development was driven in part by an extended NASA Cargo Resupply Services contract and a U.S. government contract.
Launch revenue is project-based. A customer pays for a mission or a defined development effort, so revenue recognition depends on contracts, milestones and launch activity rather than a monthly subscription from each user. The company reported 165 Falcon launches in 2025, up from 134 in 2024. More launches can increase service volume, but launch revenue still depends on mission pricing, contract terms, vehicle and pad availability, and the cost and schedule of development work.
Government work is important in this segment because NASA and other U.S. government contracts are specifically identified as growth drivers. That does not mean every SpaceX launch is government-funded; the filing’s point is that the cited contract extensions and awards contributed to the reported growth.
2. Starlink-led Connectivity
Connectivity is SpaceX’s larger reported business by 2025 revenue. It generated $11.387 billion and $4.423 billion in operating income in the 2025 prospectus. The segment is centered on Starlink and includes consumer, enterprise, mobile and government connectivity.
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This business has a recurring component that launch services do not: customers pay for ongoing access rather than only for a completed mission. Hardware, installation and service arrangements can still affect revenue and costs, but the economic engine is a growing subscriber and account base. The prospectus says consumer-subscriber revenue growth reflected 99.9% growth in Starlink subscribers. International expansion added lower-priced plans, however, and subscriber average revenue per user declined 11.2%. In other words, the customer base expanded rapidly while the average amount collected per subscriber fell.
The four customer categories show why Starlink is not simply a household broadband product. Consumer users are one group; enterprises can buy connectivity for offices, remote sites or operations; mobile connectivity serves moving platforms; and governments purchase connectivity for public-sector needs. The filing does not provide a single percentage split among those categories in the figures used here, so no precise mix should be inferred.
3. What SpaceX’s mix means
Using the two reported 2025 segments, Connectivity represented about 74% of SpaceX’s $15.473 billion combined segment revenue, while Space represented about 26%. That balance is materially different from Tesla’s automotive-heavy mix. SpaceX still has a substantial launch and development business, but Starlink supplies the larger reported revenue base and the only operating-income figure provided in the cited material.
Connectivity can become more predictable as subscribers and enterprise accounts renew, yet it is not risk-free recurring revenue. Expansion into new countries can lower average revenue per user, network and satellite investment can be capital-intensive, and government or mobile contracts may have different economics from consumer plans. The 99.9% subscriber-growth and 11.2% average-revenue-per-user figures illustrate both sides of that model.
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Which company makes more money?
On the reported 2025 segment revenue figures, Tesla makes more money by a wide margin. Tesla’s automotive and energy segments sum to $94.827 billion, compared with SpaceX’s Space and Connectivity segments totaling $15.473 billion. Tesla’s reported segment total is a little more than six times SpaceX’s on this basis.
The comparison needs two qualifications. First, the figures come from separate companies and reporting presentations; they are not a combined-company income statement. Second, revenue is not profit. SpaceX’s Connectivity segment reported $4.423 billion of operating income, while the cited Tesla figures here do not state comparable Tesla segment operating-income amounts. A larger revenue base can require more manufacturing, logistics, service infrastructure or investment and therefore cannot by itself establish which company is more profitable overall.
Their customers and sales models are different
| Dimension | Tesla | SpaceX |
|---|---|---|
| Primary transaction | Vehicle sale or lease; energy-product sale, lease or project deployment; related services | Launch or development contract; recurring connectivity account and associated service or hardware |
| Revenue timing | Often tied to vehicle delivery, leasing schedules, service use or energy deployment milestones | Launch and development revenue is contract and milestone based; Connectivity can recur as customers remain subscribed |
| Customer groups named in the source material | Automotive customers and users of vehicle, charging, insurance, maintenance and related services; energy-product customers | Consumers, enterprises, mobile users and governments for Connectivity; launch and development customers for Space |
| Scale signal in 2025 | $82.056 billion automotive revenue and $12.771 billion energy revenue | 165 Falcon launches, up from 134; $4.086 billion Space revenue and $11.387 billion Connectivity revenue |
Tesla’s model places a large amount of revenue in physical products that are delivered, leased or installed. SpaceX’s model pairs high-value missions with a network service that can bill repeatedly. This is why comparing only the headline products—cars versus rockets—misses Starlink’s importance to SpaceX’s economics.
Capital intensity, development and profitability
Both companies must spend heavily before they can recognize revenue, but the assets and spending cycles differ. Tesla needs vehicle factories, battery and energy manufacturing, delivery capacity, charging infrastructure, service operations and software. Energy projects add installation and deployment requirements. SpaceX needs launch vehicles, spacecraft, launch sites, testing, mission operations and the satellite network and ground systems supporting Connectivity.
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The cited material does not provide a directly comparable 2025 research-and-development total or capital-expenditure figure for both companies, so a numerical claim that one spends a particular amount more than the other would not be supported. The filings do establish different revenue mechanics: Tesla’s automotive segment includes manufacturing and after-sale services, while SpaceX’s Space segment includes launch and development contracts and its Connectivity segment includes a network service.
There is one explicit operating-profit figure in the supplied company data: SpaceX Connectivity operating income of $4.423 billion in 2025. The cited Tesla figures identify segment revenue and the filing supplies segment gross-profit information, but no Tesla segment operating-profit amounts are stated here. A reader should therefore avoid turning the revenue table into a margin ranking.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Regulation and government contracts affect both businesses
Tesla’s regulatory exposure
Regulation is built into Tesla’s automotive revenue definition because the company sells automotive regulatory credits. The energy segment also includes sales of energy-generation incentives. Those items can add revenue, but their availability and value depend on laws, programs and market conditions. The 2025 filing does not establish that credits or incentives are the main reason for Tesla’s overall revenue level; they are components of broader segments.
SpaceX’s contract and licensing exposure
SpaceX’s Space-segment growth was partly attributed to an extended NASA Cargo Resupply Services contract and a U.S. government contract. Launch operations and satellite connectivity also depend on regulatory approvals, spectrum and licensing regimes, although the cited figures do not quantify the effect of any particular approval. Government demand is therefore a meaningful customer and contract factor, not evidence that SpaceX’s entire business is a government business.
Where Tesla and SpaceX overlap
Shared leadership is the clearest link
Elon Musk is the central governance connection. Tesla’s official biography states:
“Elon has also served as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Chairman of Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, an advanced rocket and spacecraft manufacturing and services company (“SpaceX”), since May 2002.”
That description explains why the companies are often discussed together, but a common executive does not make them one corporate entity. Their products, reporting segments, customers and contracts remain distinct.
Affiliated-company dealings
Tesla’s 2025 filing says it periodically does business with entities affiliated with its chief executive and directors, including SpaceX, and that such dealings are handled under Tesla’s Related Person Transactions Policy. The cited note does not quantify a material 2025 Tesla–SpaceX transaction. It is therefore accurate to say affiliated-company dealings are possible and disclosed as a governance matter, but not to claim a specific dollar amount or a major supply agreement without a reported figure.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsAdjacent technical capabilities
The businesses occupy neighboring technology fields even though they sell different products:
- Advanced manufacturing: both build complex hardware at scale, with demanding quality, testing and supply-chain requirements.
- Software and AI: Tesla’s vehicles and energy systems use software, while SpaceX operates mission systems and a communications network. The cited filings do not measure a combined software or AI business.
- Energy systems: Tesla sells batteries and storage systems; SpaceX’s network requires power, ground infrastructure and spacecraft operations. That is technical adjacency, not evidence that one company’s energy products are supplied to the other.
- Communications and infrastructure: Starlink provides connectivity, while Tesla operates connected vehicles and charging services. The sources do not report a commercial integration between those networks.
- Aerospace and transportation infrastructure: SpaceX is directly in launch and spacecraft services; Tesla is in road transportation and energy. The shared theme is large-scale infrastructure, not a shared revenue segment.
Does Tesla own SpaceX?
The cited materials do not report Tesla owning SpaceX. They describe Tesla, Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corporation as separate companies and identify Musk’s leadership role at both. Tesla’s related-party disclosure treats SpaceX as an affiliated entity because of those relationships; it does not say Tesla is SpaceX’s parent or that the companies have merged.
That distinction matters for financial comparisons. Tesla’s $94.827 billion two-segment total should not be presented as including SpaceX revenue, and SpaceX’s $15.473 billion total should not be presented as a Tesla subsidiary result. Any transfer, shared project or commercial arrangement would need to be supported by a specific company disclosure.
What the overlap could mean—and what it does not prove
Shared leadership can make knowledge, recruiting, supplier relationships or strategic ideas easier to discuss across companies, but the available filings do not quantify total Tesla–SpaceX synergies. They also do not establish a combined revenue stream, a formal cross-company technology platform or a merger plan.
The defensible conclusion is narrower: both companies operate in technically demanding industries; they have a common top executive; Tesla recognizes that it may transact with SpaceX as an affiliated entity; and their capabilities sit near one another in manufacturing, software, energy, communications and infrastructure. Those facts explain the overlap without turning adjacency into an unreported business relationship.
How to interpret future results
Readers comparing the companies should track different indicators for each business rather than looking for one universal scorecard.
- For Tesla automotive: watch automotive revenue together with vehicle delivery economics, leasing, service activity, charging, insurance, parts, merchandise and regulatory-credit contribution when disclosed.
- For Tesla energy: follow Megapack and Powerwall deployments, installation timing and the segment’s year-over-year revenue. The 27% increase in 2025 was primarily deployment-driven.
- For SpaceX Space: follow launch cadence, contract awards, development milestones and the mix of commercial and government work. Falcon launches rose from 134 in 2024 to 165 in 2025.
- For SpaceX Connectivity: follow subscriber growth, average revenue per user, enterprise and government adoption, mobile connectivity and operating income. Rapid subscriber growth can coexist with lower average pricing, as the 99.9% and 11.2% figures demonstrate.
- For the relationship between the companies: rely on disclosed related-party transactions and formal filings, not assumptions based on Musk’s leadership or similar technology themes.
The practical answer
Tesla is primarily an electric-vehicle company with a substantial and growing energy-storage business. SpaceX combines a launch-and-development company with a large Starlink connectivity operation. Tesla generated far more reported segment revenue in 2025, while SpaceX’s Connectivity segment supplied a recurring service model and reported $4.423 billion of operating income. Their overlap is real at the leadership, affiliated-company and technology-adjacency levels, but the available filings do not support treating them as one company, assigning Tesla ownership of SpaceX or claiming a quantified synergy.
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