SpaceX (SPCX.US) Sees Board Change: Alphabet Inc. Class C Executive Departs as Tesla, Inc. Merger Evaluation Advances

SpaceX (SPCX.US) said on Friday that Don Harrison has resigned from the company's board of directors. Harrison has worked at Alphabet Inc. Class C since 2005 and currently serves as President of Global Partnerships and Corporate Development at Alphabet Inc. Class C. The personnel change comes about five months after SpaceX completed the largest IPO on record; SpaceX and Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) are currently evaluating a potential merger through a special committee, and attention is also focused on the impact of the SpaceX stake held by Alphabet Inc. Class C's parent company Alphabet (GOOGL.US) on its financial statements. SpaceX said in a regulatory filing that "Mr. Harrison's decision to resign was not due to any disagreement with the company on any matter relating to its operations, policies or practices." SpaceX thanked Harrison for his "many contributions and years of dedication and outstanding service" to the company. Elon Musk said last month that SpaceX and Tesla, Inc. had established a special committee composed of independent directors to evaluate a potential merger. According to reports, the two sides are working to announce a deal in the first half of next year so that the transaction can be completed during the Trump administration. Musk has not specified which board members are on the special committees of the two companies. Harrison is among the independent directors identified by SpaceX, along with Ira Ehrenpreis, Roelof Botha, Luke Nosek, Steve Jurvetson and Randy Glein. Alphabet maintains close ties with SpaceX, having invested in the Musk-led company in 2015, when SpaceX was valued at about US$12 billion. As of Friday's close, Alphabet is SpaceX's largest institutional investor, with its stake worth US$74 billion; SpaceX's current market value is about US$1.8 trillion. Because SpaceX's share price fell last quarter, the investment weighed on Alphabet's financial results announced last week. Alphabet Inc. Class C is an important customer of SpaceX and has agreed to pay up to US$920 million per month to SpaceX's artificial intelligence unit for computing power from the latter's data centers in the Memphis, Tennessee area. The two companies also recently collaborated through the Project Suncatcher project to send Alphabet Inc. Class C AI chips into orbit. At the same time, Alphabet Inc. Class C and SpaceX compete in the fields of AI models and chat Siasun Robot&Automation. Alphabet Inc. Class C said in an emailed statement: "While Don will step down from the board, we remain firmly supportive of SpaceX's mission and are excited to continue our long-standing partnership."