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Well, I'm not sure what part of the SpaceX timeline you are talking about but his "money, enthusiasm, and naivety" certainly has brought the company very, very

by cowmix 7y ago

Well, I'm not sure what part of the SpaceX timeline you are talking about but his "money, enthusiasm, and naivety" certainly has brought the company very, very far in the past 17+ years.

xkjkls 7y ago
It's still not a profitable company with alot of debt to payoff and a valuation to justify. I don't know if we can consider 17 years without any profitable sustainability a success.
- avmich 7y ago
  Amazon roughly fits this profile, with their habit of investing money in expanding markets instead of keeping profits. SpaceX is the only company which returns first stage after flight, in workable condition. In today's launch industry it's like a license to print money. It's really hard not to consider them profitable, even if they are private and don't show financial results.
  - xkjkls 7y ago
    Amazon has only been unprofitable one year since 2001, and cash flow positive every single year. They are the exact opposite of Tesla because they didn't require returning to the capital markets every two quarters. > In today's launch industry it's like a license to print money. It's really hard not to consider them profitable, even if they are private and don't show financial results. Every report on their financial results says they are unprofitable, and they continue to want to raise more and more money.
- nickik 7y ago
  It blows my mind that people in the modern world can still think this way.
fragmede 7y ago
As the story goes, Musk, interested in space, approaches the Russians and asks to buy an ICBM. The Russians laughed him out of the room. A year later, SpaceX was founded. 17 years later, here we are! https://www.inverse.com/article/34976-spacex-ceo-elon-musk-tried-to-buy-icbm-rockets-from-russia https://www.inverse.com/article/34976-spacex-ceo-elon-musk-t... https://www.fastcompany.com/3006829/spacex-founder-elon-musk-considered-buying-russian-ballistic-missiles-nukes https://www.fastcompany.com/3006829/spacex-founder-elon-musk...

by cowmix 7y ago

Well, I'm not sure what part of the SpaceX timeline you are talking about but his "money, enthusiasm, and naivety" certainly has brought the company very, very far in the past 17+ years.

xkjkls 7y ago

It's still not a profitable company with alot of debt to payoff and a valuation to justify. I don't know if we can consider 17 years without any profitable sustainability a success.

avmich 7y ago
Amazon roughly fits this profile, with their habit of investing money in expanding markets instead of keeping profits. SpaceX is the only company which returns first stage after flight, in workable condition. In today's launch industry it's like a license to print money. It's really hard not to consider them profitable, even if they are private and don't show financial results.
- xkjkls 7y ago
  Amazon has only been unprofitable one year since 2001, and cash flow positive every single year. They are the exact opposite of Tesla because they didn't require returning to the capital markets every two quarters. > In today's launch industry it's like a license to print money. It's really hard not to consider them profitable, even if they are private and don't show financial results. Every report on their financial results says they are unprofitable, and they continue to want to raise more and more money.
nickik 7y ago
It blows my mind that people in the modern world can still think this way.

fragmede 7y ago

As the story goes, Musk, interested in space, approaches the Russians and asks to buy an ICBM. The Russians laughed him out of the room. A year later, SpaceX was founded. 17 years later, here we are! https://www.inverse.com/article/34976-spacex-ceo-elon-musk-tried-to-buy-icbm-rockets-from-russia https://www.inverse.com/article/34976-spacex-ceo-elon-musk-t... https://www.fastcompany.com/3006829/spacex-founder-elon-musk-considered-buying-russian-ballistic-missiles-nukes https://www.fastcompany.com/3006829/spacex-founder-elon-musk...