SpaceX board member Donald Harrison has resigned after more than a decade with the company, as independent directors reportedly examine a potential merger between Elon Musk's SpaceX and Tesla, Bloomberg reported.
According to a company filing issued after Friday's market close, Harrison informed SpaceX of his decision on Nov 4.
The company stated that his departure was not connected to any disagreement over its operations, policies or practices.
Harrison joined the SpaceX board in 2015 following Google's investment in the aerospace company.
He served as an independent director while continuing his role at Alphabet, Google's parent company, where he leads corporate partnerships and development.
SpaceX and Tesla have reportedly established special committees comprising independent directors to assess a possible combination.
Musk, who leads both companies, disclosed the formation of these committees last month, according to the report.
Bloomberg News reported that efforts were underway to announce a potential agreement during the first half of next year, with the aim of completing the transaction during the current US administration.
However, Musk has not publicly identified the directors serving on either committee.
Before his departure, Harrison was among the SpaceX directors considered independent.
Other directors identified in this category include Ira Ehrenpreis, Roelof Botha, Luke Nosek, Steve Jurvetson and Randy Glein.
No definitive merger agreement has been disclosed in the supplied report.
Alphabet remains a major SpaceX investor, holding the second-largest stake after Musk, according to the report.
Its investment in the aerospace company reportedly affected Alphabet's latest earnings after SpaceX shares declined during the preceding quarter.
Despite their investment relationship, Google and Musk-linked businesses also compete in artificial intelligence (AI).
Google's Gemini and xAI's Grok compete with products developed by other AI companies, including Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Harrison's departure comes as the reported merger discussions raise questions about corporate governance, independent oversight and the future relationship between Musk's businesses.
The companies have not announced final transaction terms or a confirmed merger timetable.
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