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> SpaceX is killing it on profits SpaceX isn't open about their financials, but all indications are that they are losing money.

pooya13 8y ago
What indications?
onlyrealcuzzo 8y ago
Fair. But it's hard for me to imagine a future in which Tesla grows at a better rate than SpaceX.
- newnewpdro 8y ago
  What are you smoking? The market for automobiles is basically the entire world's adult population. Space rockets not so much.
  - eafkuor 8y ago
    You're not entirely wrong, but entire world? I'm not sure. The _vast_ majority of people in the planet can't afford to spend even 10kUSD on a car.
    - leadingthenet 7y ago
      And there's some who simply don't want to. I could afford to buy a car, but I have an amazing electric bike, and live in a city with fantastic public transport. The 5 days a year I actually NEED a car, I can just rent one. So why buy?
    - newnewpdro 7y ago
      Do you think that's some kind of permanent condition? On a long enough timeline the world normalizes. These classifications of "first world" vs. "third world" countries can be viewed as an ordering of arrival to the modern high-energy high-tech life. Third-world countries don't stay in mud huts indefinitely. China is the fastest growing automotive market in the world, it wasn't too long ago they were riding bicycles in droves. Now we're hearing about manufacturing migrating from China to India where it's still cheap, the cycle repeats. I don't think we can say that everyone in the world will ever be in the market for SpaceX products and services. But we can definitely say that's possible about electric vehicles. They are already often owned and operated by individuals, and the common utility is incredibly obvious. All I'm hearing in your comment is that they're currently too expensive for most people. The price will decrease as the economies of scale take over, the buying power and interest across the world population will increase in spurts, it's only a matter of time. Once EV-capable batteries are as commonplace as propane tanks, this picture is going to change dramatically. Eliminating a transmission and ICE from a vehicle design substantially lowers the cost to manufacture it. There's very little precision machining left in an EV, it's basically the steering rack, and myriad ball/roller bearings, wheel hubs, brake rotors and calipers, what else? It's a big difference.
  - kharak 8y ago
    I guess that is an USA centric viewpoint. Here in Europe, if you live in a city, chances are you don't need, have or want a car. People want less cars, less traffic and more public transport and bike lanes. Personally, I'd never live somewhere where a car is mandatory.
  - onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
    The automobile market is competitive. The automobile industry doesn't have impressive margins. It's not growing, either. Rocket launch demand is growing like crazy. The market is not competitive. And if SpaceX doesn't fuck up, it likely never will be. In that kind of market, margins will be impressive.

pooya13 8y ago

What indications?

onlyrealcuzzo 8y ago

Fair. But it's hard for me to imagine a future in which Tesla grows at a better rate than SpaceX.

newnewpdro 8y ago
What are you smoking? The market for automobiles is basically the entire world's adult population. Space rockets not so much.
- eafkuor 8y ago
  You're not entirely wrong, but entire world? I'm not sure. The _vast_ majority of people in the planet can't afford to spend even 10kUSD on a car.
  - leadingthenet 7y ago
    And there's some who simply don't want to. I could afford to buy a car, but I have an amazing electric bike, and live in a city with fantastic public transport. The 5 days a year I actually NEED a car, I can just rent one. So why buy?
  - newnewpdro 7y ago
    Do you think that's some kind of permanent condition? On a long enough timeline the world normalizes. These classifications of "first world" vs. "third world" countries can be viewed as an ordering of arrival to the modern high-energy high-tech life. Third-world countries don't stay in mud huts indefinitely. China is the fastest growing automotive market in the world, it wasn't too long ago they were riding bicycles in droves. Now we're hearing about manufacturing migrating from China to India where it's still cheap, the cycle repeats. I don't think we can say that everyone in the world will ever be in the market for SpaceX products and services. But we can definitely say that's possible about electric vehicles. They are already often owned and operated by individuals, and the common utility is incredibly obvious. All I'm hearing in your comment is that they're currently too expensive for most people. The price will decrease as the economies of scale take over, the buying power and interest across the world population will increase in spurts, it's only a matter of time. Once EV-capable batteries are as commonplace as propane tanks, this picture is going to change dramatically. Eliminating a transmission and ICE from a vehicle design substantially lowers the cost to manufacture it. There's very little precision machining left in an EV, it's basically the steering rack, and myriad ball/roller bearings, wheel hubs, brake rotors and calipers, what else? It's a big difference.
- kharak 8y ago
  I guess that is an USA centric viewpoint. Here in Europe, if you live in a city, chances are you don't need, have or want a car. People want less cars, less traffic and more public transport and bike lanes. Personally, I'd never live somewhere where a car is mandatory.
- onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
  The automobile market is competitive. The automobile industry doesn't have impressive margins. It's not growing, either. Rocket launch demand is growing like crazy. The market is not competitive. And if SpaceX doesn't fuck up, it likely never will be. In that kind of market, margins will be impressive.