Topline
Elon Musk’s net worth dropped more than $50 billion Tuesday as SpaceX shares tumbled, even as Wall Street banks raved about the rocket maker’s potential, including one that praised Musk’s firm’s potential impact on humanity as “bigger than any company’s we’ve ever seen.”
Shares of the rocket maker hovered over their debut price, even as Wall Street lauded the firm’s potential.
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Key Facts
Shares of SpaceX plunged by nearly 7% Tuesday to below their $150 debut price, while Tesla shares dropped by more than 4%.
Musk, who holds 4.8 billion SpaceX shares and another 350 million stock options, as well as roughly 700 million Tesla shares, had his net worth cut by $58.2 billion as a result, dropping it to $941.2 billion.
Several investment brokers opened coverage of SpaceX’s stock on Tuesday, the most bullish of which came from Raymond James analyst Brian Gesuale, who wrote his firm believed SpaceX was building the “foundational platform for the next generation of industrial capacity.”
“SpaceX’s ambitions, and potential impact on humanity, are bigger than any company’s we’ve ever seen,” JPMorgan analysts wrote.
surprising fact
JPMorgan analyst Rajat Gupta cast doubt on a possible merger between Tesla and SpaceX, writing that a tie-up between Musk’s firms is “strategically coherent on paper” and that their businesses would complement each other, but regulatory approval would prove difficult.
crucial quote
“Just as railroads, electric grids, and the internet reshaped prior economic eras, we believe SpaceX is building the foundational platform for the next generation of industrial capacity,” Gesuale wrote.
big number
$800. That’s Raymond James’ price target for SpaceX shares, a roughly 500% surge above its IPO price that would swell the company’s market valuation well above $10 trillion. Arete Research set a $401 price target, while Morgan Stanley set a $300 target and Goldman Sachs a $205 goal. On average, brokers expect SpaceX shares to be worth $236.
key background
Musk’s fortune has dropped by more than $500 billion since peaking at $1.45 trillion last month. His net worth plummeted as SpaceX shares lost momentum after a record-setting IPO, and Musk briefly lost his trillionaire status after Forbes cut $116 billion of his restricted Tesla stock from estimates of his wealth. He has since buoyed above and below the trillion-dollar threshold over the last week, even as more analysts offer bullish takes for SpaceX’s growth potential. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, a consistent bull for Tesla, called SpaceX “one of the most differentiated assets within the tech market” last week and argued Musk’s firm is “well-positioned to become a major hyperscaler” across connectivity, rocket launches and AI infrastructure.