SpaceX: the Tesla of Space Transportation?
Updated: Apr 6, 2022
With the recently concluded SNL, we can safely say that Elon Musk has left nothing untouched in the Wild West. He has safely ventured not only in the start-up scene but also in the Hollywood scene with SNL being another feather in his already ginormous hat of achievements. He has long been a fixture in Hollywood with cameos and appearances in many movies but SNL was the official debut in public. He is currently rolling high on the unfathomable success of Tesla which has propelled his fortune from an already massive $64 billion to a mega $100 plus billion dollars. While the public expresses bittersweet emotions over Tesla’s success one must not forget the not-so backstage star SpaceX which too in true Musk fashion is on the verge of making history. With SpaceX Musk has outdone himself in creating another truly revolutionary company that will redefine the space-age for all of us out there.
SpaceX is the first private company to successfully launch astronauts into space with the firm completing its mission of transporting astronauts to the ISS recently. This is just the start of a very ambitious plan which caps with a human mission to Mars. Yes, you heard it right, a human mission to Mars? SpaceX has recently added another destination in its sights alongside Mars with the firm eyeing a lion’s share of the tele-networking market as a part of its strategy. As the firm’s ambitions grow so does its market cap which is of now just shy of $100 billion. In light of these over-zealous plans, it is only natural to wonder whether SpaceX has the mileage to be the Tesla of the space age.
Its sister concern has created a magnitude 9 earthquake in the auto industry with automakers rushing to safety as they charter their next phase under Tesla’s siege. Musk has for long been identified as the driving factor behind this seismic wave and with his energy fully devoted towards SpaceX we can expect results not so different than Teslas. The other thing playing to their advantage is technology. By embracing technology and innovation the firm is coming up with cutting edge products that are cheaper to produce and operate than their NASA counterparts. SpaceX’s reusability tech in their rockets is the prime driver of these cost-savings and the tech is one of its kind in the industry.
Their innovations don’t stop there with the company planning a venerable network of 60 satellites that will create a satellite internet service like none other. Dubbed Starlink the project, one of the many in the world, is aiming to be one of the first and most well-connected internet provider amongst a deluge of competitors. Promising speeds as high as 1 GB/s and even more the internet service can prove to be a smart diversification from the core space business. This diversification will further give the company mileage to be the next Tesla in space transportation as the business can generate high-profit margins after breaking even with the initial capital investment. Alongside this the company’s plans for a civilian space service can prove lucrative as the rich with their newly minter COVID wealth would be in a stronger financial position to splurge on these costly vacations. Plus, the business gives the company another vertical to scale into a cash cow.
SpaceX certainly needs the cash as the firm’s ultimate goals are nowhere near its already impressive achievements. The firm was incorporated with the idea of a Mars shuttle and knowing Musk the company will put its entire weight behind that near-impossible feat. It’s a lesser-known but proven “Business-101” lesson that only when your dreams are larger than impossible do you achieve something truly extraordinary. Musk has certainly embraced the message down to its core as, if you think of it, Tesla and PayPal both grew out of that very same business funda. We can expect a similarly bright future for SpaceX which despite competition from Bezos has the first-mover’s advantage up its sleeve. If they play their cards right they can certainly carve a niche cult of their own much like Tesla.