The X ticker is free as Musk weighs a SpaceX-Tesla merger

No US stock trades under X since Nippon Steel bought US Steel last year. With SpaceX and Tesla exploring a merger, investors say Musk could claim the symbol, though he has not said so. Only five single-letter US tickers are free.

The stock ticker X is free, and some investors think Elon Musk could claim it if SpaceX and Tesla merge, Bloomberg reported. The symbol has been unused since Nippon Steel bought United States Steel last year.

Musk has long loved the letter. Tesla sells the Model X, SpaceX carries it in its name, Twitter became X after he bought it in 2022, and one of his sons is called X Æ A-Xii. Even his early online bank, X.com, later became part of PayPal, and he bought the domain back in 2017.

“The merger has a ways to go, but if it closes, nobody should be surprised to see X back on the tape,” said Dave Mazza, chief executive of Roundhill Investments. “It’s entirely on brand.”

Musk, who runs both companies, said last week that special committees at SpaceX and Tesla are exploring a merger. He called it “a good idea” but said no terms had been agreed and a deal may never happen.

He has not said he wants the ticker. Single-letter tickers are rare, and only five, I, K, N, X and Y, are free in the US, according to Bloomberg.

Tickers do change hands. SpaceX listed on Nasdaq as SPCX, a symbol that a Tuttle Capital fund used until April.

Some investors think a merged company would need a new name, too. “Tesla still makes people think cars, and SpaceX makes people think rockets,” said Haris Khurshid, chief investment officer at Karobaar Capital.

“X will probably mark that spot,” said Max Gokhman of Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions. “That would be the most Musk thing ever.”