Tesla shares climbed nearly 2% in extended trading Tuesday after CEO Elon Musk revealed that the company is engaging in merger talks with SpaceX.

Musk said on SpaceX’s

SPCX

third-quarter earnings call that both the rocket-launch company and electric-vehicle maker Tesla TSLA had created special committees consisting of independent board directors to explore a merger. Musk, as CEO and a major shareholder in both entities, isn’t officially clued in to the talks, he noted.