Elon Musk Reportedly Backs Skydance With $1B, While Malone Eyes $8–10B SpaceX Entry

• The investment was completed around the same time as equity injections from other Skydance investors, including board member Laurene Powell Jobs. 
• The report comes a day after media mogul John Malone said he sees a possible transaction between Skydance and Musk’s rocket company SpaceX. 
• Malone suggested SpaceX could invest roughly $8 billion to $10 billion in Skydance as part of a broader arrangement.

Billionaire Elon Musk has reportedly invested about $1 billion in Skydance (SKYD), providing the entertainment company with fresh capital as it seeks to cut costs and support its share price after a costly merger that increased its debt pile.

The investment was completed around the same time as equity injections from other Skydance investors, including board member Laurene Powell Jobs, Semafor reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Semafor had reported in September that Paramount was considering seeking an equity investment from Musk.

SKYD shares traded flat at the time of writing as media mogul John Malone had estimated a bigger investment from Musk on Wednesday.

Malone’s Prediction For SKYD-SPCX Deal

Malone said on Wednesday at the Paley International Council Summit in New York that he sees a possible transaction between Skydance and Musk’s rocket company SpaceX. He suggested SpaceX could invest roughly $8 billion to $10 billion in Skydance as part of a broader arrangement.

The baron framed the idea as a practical way to reduce pressure on Skydance’s balance sheet while giving SpaceX a potential path into content distribution, adding that it is a “big prediction,” and highlighting the financial links between Musk and Larry Ellison.  

Musk has longstanding ties with Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle and father of Paramount CEO David Ellison. Larry Ellison invested $1 billion in Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter, now called X, and previously invested in Tesla and served on its board.

Skydance completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6, creating a combined company under the Skydance name that unites major film studios, HBO, CNN, CBS, and streaming platforms. The transaction, valued at roughly $110 billion including debt, left the new entity with a heavy debt load of around $80 billion. According to Malone, an investment by SpaceX can “take a little bit of the burden off David Ellison’s shoulders, because he’s taking on a pretty big pile of debt.”

How Did SKYD Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SKYD rose from neutral to bullish territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume rose from low to normal levels.

A Stocktwits user opined that any amount of investment from Musk is bullish for Skydance and termed the stock a gift under $10.

Another raised concerns about Musk’s investment and said they would short SKYD.

SKYD stock has fallen 41% year-to-date. 

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