Malone predicts SpaceX, Skydance deal
October 22, 2026

By Colin Mann



Industry mogul John Malone has raised the possibility of a major deal between David Ellison’s Skydance and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

In conversation with Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries at the Paley Center International Council Summit, Malone predicted that Musk and Ellison would agree a deal to help the media company delever, while also giving Musk’s company access to content or other assets.


“I think there’s a deal coming there,” Malone said, suggesting an investment figure of $8 billion to $10 billion. “I predict, big prediction, that you’ll see a global output deal for Skydance with SpaceX, and an investment by SpaceX into Skydance, to deliver Skydance and take a little bit of the burden off David Ellison’s shoulders, because he’s taking on a pretty big pile of debt.”

Malone noted that Musk and David Ellison’s father, Larry Ellison, “are very intertwined,” pointing out that Ellison Senior helped Musk finance Twitter when he bought it.

“How did Larry Ellison come up with some of the money to put into the creation of Skydance? Tesla stock,” he added. “And I would not doubt for a minute that before very long you’re going to see an announcement.”