3 ms·

Isn't the potential revenue of spacex way lower? That market is quite a bit smaller than cars, and will be for the foreseeable future.

by atwrk 2y ago

adamc 2y ago
Not to mention... if/when there is a change in administrations, his lucrative contracts with the government will likely be canceled.
- dartos 2y ago
  It’s “when” Honestly I don’t see trump living through this term, let alone another. No other republican has his cult of personality, so idk what they’re going to do when he keels over.
  - bloopernova 2y ago
    Generally, when someone reaches 80, they tend to live another 7 or 8 years. Whether he declines before then, to a point of uselessness for the republicans, is a different question. Also I'm assuming someone is pumping him full of every drug available to prevent his decline as much as possible. vance seems to think he's next in line, having been anointed by the billionaire class, but he's all hatred and no charisma. Although saying that, he may just shuffle into the top spot when it's impossible to dislodge him. Or he may just get accepted by whichever bot farms drive the rightwing social media frenzy. I'm personally hoping that their general fascist incompetence will fuck their chances of an everlasting reich.
    - PolygonSheep 2y ago
      > Also I'm assuming someone is pumping him full of every drug available to prevent his decline as much as possible. This seems very similar to claims I heard from Republicans about Biden a year or two ago.
  - root_axis 2y ago
    Trump's dad lived to 93.
  - adamc 2y ago
    It's when if we are still a democracy.
willvarfar 2y ago
The cynic says that the US government is the main buyer of launch capacity and pays top dollar and if a launch provider had an 'in' with the government then it could be very lucrative...? Especially when the competition dies off leaving spacex the only one standing.
Frost1x 2y ago
It’s probably more stable as it caters to larger established entities like governments, large businesses, etc. Although he’s simultaneously undermining the US government so if there’s no taxes to pay for his contracts or agencies who need the function of anything modern because they’re so hobbled… Not entirely sure what the end game is here. So far he has mostly protected his interests in terms of government attacks I’d say, at least in the US. Outside the US I doubt any state would take him seriously other than maybe providing one time services like satellite delivery for less essential infrastructure if it’s competitive.
oskarkk 2y ago
Revenue is less important than profits, and car manufacturing is generally a low-margin business. Meanwhile SpaceX' Falcon 9 is the cheapest rocket (something like $70m/launch), while the cost to SpaceX is $10-20m per launch. So there's 200%+ profit margin. Starlink doesn't have any real competitors now, and fast internet access in sparsely populated areas is a big market (also with big money from military uses). Most of SpaceX revenue is from Starlink.

Isn't the potential revenue of spacex way lower? That market is quite a bit smaller than cars, and will be for the foreseeable future.

by atwrk 2y ago

Isn't the potential revenue of spacex way lower? That market is quite a bit smaller than cars, and will be for the foreseeable future.

adamc 2y ago

Not to mention... if/when there is a change in administrations, his lucrative contracts with the government will likely be canceled.

dartos 2y ago
It’s “when” Honestly I don’t see trump living through this term, let alone another. No other republican has his cult of personality, so idk what they’re going to do when he keels over.
- bloopernova 2y ago
  Generally, when someone reaches 80, they tend to live another 7 or 8 years. Whether he declines before then, to a point of uselessness for the republicans, is a different question. Also I'm assuming someone is pumping him full of every drug available to prevent his decline as much as possible. vance seems to think he's next in line, having been anointed by the billionaire class, but he's all hatred and no charisma. Although saying that, he may just shuffle into the top spot when it's impossible to dislodge him. Or he may just get accepted by whichever bot farms drive the rightwing social media frenzy. I'm personally hoping that their general fascist incompetence will fuck their chances of an everlasting reich.
  - PolygonSheep 2y ago
    > Also I'm assuming someone is pumping him full of every drug available to prevent his decline as much as possible. This seems very similar to claims I heard from Republicans about Biden a year or two ago.
- root_axis 2y ago
  Trump's dad lived to 93.
- adamc 2y ago
  It's when if we are still a democracy.

willvarfar 2y ago

The cynic says that the US government is the main buyer of launch capacity and pays top dollar and if a launch provider had an 'in' with the government then it could be very lucrative...? Especially when the competition dies off leaving spacex the only one standing.

Frost1x 2y ago

It’s probably more stable as it caters to larger established entities like governments, large businesses, etc. Although he’s simultaneously undermining the US government so if there’s no taxes to pay for his contracts or agencies who need the function of anything modern because they’re so hobbled… Not entirely sure what the end game is here. So far he has mostly protected his interests in terms of government attacks I’d say, at least in the US. Outside the US I doubt any state would take him seriously other than maybe providing one time services like satellite delivery for less essential infrastructure if it’s competitive.

oskarkk 2y ago

Revenue is less important than profits, and car manufacturing is generally a low-margin business. Meanwhile SpaceX' Falcon 9 is the cheapest rocket (something like $70m/launch), while the cost to SpaceX is $10-20m per launch. So there's 200%+ profit margin. Starlink doesn't have any real competitors now, and fast internet access in sparsely populated areas is a big market (also with big money from military uses). Most of SpaceX revenue is from Starlink.