Cathie Wood has never been shy about backing Elon Musk\u2019s boldest ideas. The ARK Invest founder has long viewed Tesla (TSLA) as one of the most important companies in the world, not simply because of its electric vehicles, but because of its broader exposure to autonomous driving, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and energy storage. Now, Wood is making an even bigger statement about Musk\u2019s empire by loading up on SpaceX (SPCX) stock.<\/p>\n
SpaceX has already become one of the most closely watched public companies in the market. Its shares surged following their debut, placing it among the world\u2019s most valuable public companies. For Wood, the opportunity appears to go far beyond rockets and satellite launches. In ARK\u2019s view, SpaceX is not just a space transportation company, but a vertically integrated platform spanning Starlink, defense, orbital infrastructure, and, increasingly, AI. And that AI angle is now central to the investment case.<\/p>\n
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So, does Cathie Wood\u2019s aggressive buying signal that SpaceX is still in the early stages of a once-in-a-generation growth story, or has the stock already run too far on hype? Let\u2019s take a closer look.<\/p>\n
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About SpaceX Stock <\/p>\n
SpaceX designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft while also operating Starlink, its global satellite-internet network. Following its acquisition of xAI, SpaceX has expanded beyond launch services and broadband connectivity into AI, combining space infrastructure, satellite communications, and AI development under one platform. The company\u2019s core businesses include reusable Falcon rockets, Dragon spacecraft, the Starship program, Starlink, and xAI\u2019s products, including Grok and \u201cX,\u201d formerly Twitter. This broader structure positions SpaceX as a vertically integrated technology company focused on space transportation, global connectivity, and AI-powered infrastructure. SPCX has a market cap of $2.53 trillion, making it the world\u2019s sixth-most valuable public company.<\/p>\n
SPCX stock has been on a tear following its record-breaking IPO. Its shares surged 19% on their first day of trading, gained another 20% on Monday, and climbed more than 4% on Tuesday. However, the stunning rally showed signs of cooling on Wednesday and continued into Thursday, with the stock falling about 6%.<\/p>\n
www.barchart.com Cathie Wood Doubles Down on Elon Musk With SPCX Stock <\/p>\n
Cathie Wood, founder of ARK Invest, is well known for backing Elon Musk\u2019s vision. Tesla is Wood\u2019s largest holding in the flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK). Moreover, SpaceX is the top holding in the Ark Venture Fund, a position Wood\u00a0acquired in the private market in late 2023. The fund also gained exposure to SpaceX through its investment in Musk\u2019s social media platform X, which was acquired by AI lab xAI, with xAI later merging with SpaceX. However, the fact that Wood already owned a stake in SpaceX did not mean she stayed on the sidelines when the rocket-and-satellite company went public.<\/p>\n
She\u00a0added SPCX shares to four of her six actively managed ETFs last Friday. According to ARK\u2019s daily trade notification, the firm\u2019s ARK Innovation ETF made the biggest purchase, acquiring 1.69 million shares of SpaceX. The stock now accounts for 2.12% of the fund\u2019s portfolio. Also, the ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ) purchased 736,442 shares, while the ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (ARKX) acquired 537,341 shares. Finally, Wood\u2019s ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) scooped up 325,562 shares.<\/p>\n
It remains unclear whether those shares were acquired through an IPO allocation before trading began or purchased in the open market after SpaceX started trading. And it remains unclear at what price ARK purchased those shares.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, Wood sold $280 million worth of stocks in the week leading up to the SpaceX IPO to make room for the new holding. And on SpaceX\u2019s IPO day, ARK Invest sold roughly 948,000 shares across 13 different companies, valued at at least $48 million, according to company records. ARK trimmed positions in Tesla, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Teradyne (TER), among others.<\/p>\n
All told, ARK Invest funds held approximately 3.29 million shares of SpaceX as of June 12. That marked one of Wood\u2019s most aggressive public-market purchases in years. The position was valued at $534 million as of Friday\u2019s close, and its value rose to $663.92 million as of Wednesday\u2019s close. In ARK\u2019s view, SpaceX is far more than a rocket company\u2014it is also a satellite internet, defense, and orbital infrastructure business.<\/p>\n
Why SpaceX\u2019s Space-Based AI Data Centers Ambitions Matter for Investors <\/p>\n
If you are neither Cathie Wood nor part of Musk\u2019s devoted retail investor base, you may find it difficult\u2014if not impossible\u2014to justify SpaceX\u2019s current valuation. Earlier this week, SpaceX briefly surpassed Amazon (AMZN) in market capitalization to become the world\u2019s fifth-most valuable public company. This looks particularly striking when viewed against the company\u2019s fundamentals. For example, Amazon, a highly diversified technology and retail conglomerate, generated $717 billion in revenue in 2025, compared with SpaceX\u2019s $18.7 billion, while SpaceX was not even profitable.<\/p>\n
Of course, you could point out that Musk\u00a0posted on X over the weekend that SpaceX\u2019s revenue could reach about $1 trillion in 2030, which would represent a roughly 66-fold increase from its 2025 revenue. While that growth would certainly be impressive, it is also worth noting that Wall Street\u2019s base-case forecasts call for Amazon\u2019s revenue to reach $1.15 trillion in 2030. But the key difference is that, for SpaceX to reach that figure, it must successfully turn Musk\u2019s ambitious vision into reality.<\/p>\n
And that brings us to the next logical question: What does SpaceX need to do to reach $1 trillion in revenue in 2030? I think the key to reaching that revenue target would be scaling up its Starlink and AI businesses. Let\u2019s dive a bit deeper into this.<\/p>\n
Starlink is SpaceX\u2019s satellite-based broadband service, with more than 10 million subscribers and $11.4 billion in revenue generated in 2025. Goldman Sachs analysts\u00a0project that Starlink\u2019s revenue will reach $144 billion by 2030, making it the company\u2019s second-largest business segment.<\/p>\n
Next comes SpaceX\u2019s AI business. The segment generated just $3.2 billion in revenue last year. However, momentum is beginning to build in this segment. SpaceX recently announced two new agreements to lease its data centers to Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) and Anthropic for about $26 billion annually. In addition, SpaceX said on Tuesday that it would acquire Cursor parent Anysphere for $60 billion, a move that could help the company narrow the gap with its AI rivals.<\/p>\n
Still, there remains a gap of hundreds of billions of dollars between current projections and Musk\u2019s revenue target. The only thing that could help close that gap is the deployment of low-cost AI data centers in space, which SpaceX believes could begin as early as 2028. So, this essentially tells us that SpaceX\u2019s current valuation depends on its ability to build a multi-billion-dollar AI business in space. With that, it remains to be seen whether the company can build that business in a timely manner and ultimately justify its valuation.<\/p>\n