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Tesla might be the most profitable business Musk is involved in, but SpaceX is nearest and dearest to his heart. It’s worth more to Musk than one factory which

Tesla might be the most profitable business Musk is involved in, but SpaceX is nearest and dearest to his heart. It’s worth more to Musk than one factory which, after Berlin and Austin finish ramping up, will represent just one quarter of their global factory capacity. IMHO, I think would be more likely that Musk would divest his entire ownership of Tesla than do anything which would compromise the long-term mission of SpaceX.

pencilguin 4y ago
Do you think you know the long term mission of SpaceX? It certainly is not colonizing Mars, no matter what Elon claims. Nothing SpaceX is known to be working on is anywhere close to adequate for that. My own guess is it is to get the US military dependent on him. Then he can write himself billion-dollar checks. NASA is just for practice.
vineyardmike 4y ago
I don’t think he’d have that luxury. Especially not if a situation snuck up as they often do in war. Not that I think any of this is likely. 25% of their factory output is a lot. Sure it’s an amount that won’t leave the company in ruin, but it’s a lot. Teslas growing stock price basically funds all of spaceX so divesting is unlikely. Realistically, SpaceX filled the mission musk had. It proved that space is viable with better tech. They’re really beholden to the government and he won’t be able to shake that.
- simondotau 4y ago
  It is simply wrong on the evidence that Tesla’s stock rise funds SpaceX. It is a profitable business and funds itself. And SpaceX doesn’t hold any Tesla stock as far as I’m aware. My point is that he would divest ownership of Tesla before allowing himself to be blackmailed over SpaceX. I’m not saying that he wouldn’t care if the factory in China shut, though I am saying he might prefer that over SpaceX being neutered.
  - vineyardmike 4y ago
    > It is simply wrong on the evidence that Tesla’s stock rise funds SpaceX. It is a profitable business and funds itself. And SpaceX doesn’t hold any Tesla stock as far as I’m aware. No but musk owns Tesla shares and as they rise he can invest new cash into it.
    - rlt 4y ago
      He could, but so far he hasn't, AFAIK. You might be thinking of Jeff Bezos who pours something like a billion dollars a year into Blue Origin.
    - simondotau 4y ago
      You said "Teslas growing stock price basically funds all of spaceX" and now you're completely changing your story to something else which is also speculation based on nothing. It would be appreciated if you actually admitted that to yourself and perhaps in an apology here.

pencilguin 4y ago

Do you think you know the long term mission of SpaceX? It certainly is not colonizing Mars, no matter what Elon claims. Nothing SpaceX is known to be working on is anywhere close to adequate for that. My own guess is it is to get the US military dependent on him. Then he can write himself billion-dollar checks. NASA is just for practice.

vineyardmike 4y ago

I don’t think he’d have that luxury. Especially not if a situation snuck up as they often do in war. Not that I think any of this is likely. 25% of their factory output is a lot. Sure it’s an amount that won’t leave the company in ruin, but it’s a lot. Teslas growing stock price basically funds all of spaceX so divesting is unlikely. Realistically, SpaceX filled the mission musk had. It proved that space is viable with better tech. They’re really beholden to the government and he won’t be able to shake that.

simondotau 4y ago
It is simply wrong on the evidence that Tesla’s stock rise funds SpaceX. It is a profitable business and funds itself. And SpaceX doesn’t hold any Tesla stock as far as I’m aware. My point is that he would divest ownership of Tesla before allowing himself to be blackmailed over SpaceX. I’m not saying that he wouldn’t care if the factory in China shut, though I am saying he might prefer that over SpaceX being neutered.
- vineyardmike 4y ago
  > It is simply wrong on the evidence that Tesla’s stock rise funds SpaceX. It is a profitable business and funds itself. And SpaceX doesn’t hold any Tesla stock as far as I’m aware. No but musk owns Tesla shares and as they rise he can invest new cash into it.
  - rlt 4y ago
    He could, but so far he hasn't, AFAIK. You might be thinking of Jeff Bezos who pours something like a billion dollars a year into Blue Origin.
  - simondotau 4y ago
    You said "Teslas growing stock price basically funds all of spaceX" and now you're completely changing your story to something else which is also speculation based on nothing. It would be appreciated if you actually admitted that to yourself and perhaps in an apology here.