4 ms·
"a company can only survive for so long without positive returns and that limits their risk tolerance tremendously" Don't you think Amazon's stock price says d
by jp555 12y ago
"a company can only survive for so long without positive returns and that limits their risk tolerance tremendously"
Don't you think Amazon's stock price says differently?
To me, a private Mars colony sounds a lot like an Amazon. An endeavor with a very big mission and a very long execution time.
- Retra 12y agoAmazon's failures do not result in the obliteration of their most valuable infrastucture. A small hickup isn't likely to completely ruin their company, it will only set them back a small amount. Amazon isn't launching billion dollar servers that will explode in a big publicly visible fireball when you forget to plug a cable in.
- jp555 12y agoI'm not comparing what Amazon & SpaceX are making, but the very-long-horizon vision both companies are committing to. Amazon reinvests today's income to work towards what they want to be in the 2030s and beyond.
- kiba 12y agoSpaceX's mission to colonize Mars isn't about making money, it's about colonizing Mars. But SpaceX needs to make money to make colonization of Mars happen.
- CamperBob2 12y agoIf they were ready to make a serious attempt, I'm sure they could pull the funding together with sponsorships alone.
- jp555 12y agoI'm not sure what your point is exactly. Making money is about making things people want. Colonizing Mars is the thing that people want; and every step towards that goal (launch vehicles, human spacecraft, etc) bootstraps them onto the next step. Much like how Amazon works; they forfeit profit today to invest in not just tomorrow, but several decades from now.
- crdoconnor 12y agoAmazon could start turning a huge profit tomorrow if it wanted. The only reason it doesn't is because of titanic capital expenditures funded by operating profits. How exactly is a mission to Mars comparable to this?
- jp555 12y agoAmazon reinvests all operating income from today to build the Amazon of the future. SpaceX reinvests all operating income from today's offerings (launch vehicles) to build the SpaceX of the future. Both companies appear to be bootstrapping towards a gargantuan vision that is likely decades away.
- crdoconnor 12y agoSpaceX basically has just one customer which it is entirely reliant upon. The government. Amazon has millions.
- seanflyon 12y ago> SpaceX basically has just one customer which it is entirely reliant upon. As far as I can tell NASA accounts for less than half of SpaceX's business. According to their website they have nearly $5 billion in contracts and I can only find reference to just over $2 billion in NASA contracts.
- dragonwriter 12y ago> As far as I can tell NASA accounts for less than half of SpaceX's business. NASA ⊂ "The Government" SpaceX also has Defense (USAF) contracts. At least around $900 million already awarded (and that may not be all), and they recently sued to be allowed to compete for much more under the EELV program.
- seanflyon 12y agoGood point, I hadn't realized the USAF contract was awarded to them yet. That puts government funding at significantly more than half of SpaceX's existing contracts. I still wouldn't say they basically have only one customer, but it's closer than I thought.