Cashing in on SpaceX: 'Every chance I get, I'll sell a little more'

## Cashing In on SpaceX: An Engineer's Plan to Sell Shares

Andre Lavoie, who joined SpaceX in 2009 as an engineer designing pressure tanks for its rockets, was compensated partly with company stock—a common incentive for new hires at startups. Seventeen years later, his 200,000 shares are valued at approximately $23 million (£17 million), and the 63-year-old intends to begin liquidating them as soon as possible.

"Every opportunity I get moving forward, I'll sell a bit more," he informed the BBC. "The shares have been rising so dramatically it keeps disrupting my life plans—you truly can't predict the future, so it's better to sell early and in increments."

Lavoie is not alone in witnessing a significant increase in the value of his SpaceX holdings over the years. Elon Musk, the company's founder, stated on Fox News that SpaceX's June stock market listing likely created "several thousand" employee millionaires, including those on the production line. Reports suggest that the listing generated an estimated 4,400 new millionaires.

Unlike most newly listed companies, SpaceX shares are being released in stages: the initial 20% on August 6th, with subsequent batches throughout the remainder of the year. The decision to sell at the first opportunity rests with individual shareholders; some, unlike Lavoie, may opt to retain their shares in anticipation of greater future gains.

SpaceX's June listing on the Nasdaq marked the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history, valuing the rocket and satellite firm at over $2 trillion. This briefly made Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire before the stock cooled and his fortune dipped below that milestone within weeks.

In its inaugural public company earnings report this week, SpaceX revealed that its quarterly revenue nearly doubled to $7.8 billion (£5.8 billion) from the previous year, while spending surged to $18.3 billion—more than six times the amount from a year ago. Overall, SpaceX reported a net loss of $143 million in the three months ending June, and a loss of $2 billion during the first half of the year.

Musk addressed skeptics on an earnings call, stating, "I think people are really underestimating Starlink." He predicted that the satellite internet service, currently the only profitable segment of the company, could eventually provide the majority of the world's internet. However, the company's shares declined following the earnings report, as investors were generally concerned by the substantial investments in AI.

Lavoie plans to use the proceeds from selling some of his shares to finance the renovation of a hotel in Pontebba, Italy's northeastern Friuli region, and to establish a small brewery. His future priority, he says, is to raise awareness about air pollution in the area, in collaboration with a local environmental group.

Before his hiring, Lavoie was interviewed by Musk himself. "He's a very charming person when he wants something," Lavoie remarked. He declined to comment on Musk's politics, stating "that's his business," but expressed unwavering support for the company: "I've always been happily supportive and impressed, and would work hard with those incredible people again."

Some analysts value SpaceX at less than half its current stock market price, cautioning that its connections to xAI pose genuine financial risks. This reflects a broader concern on Wall Street that the exceptionally high valuations of AI-linked companies, including SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic, might be excessive.

Sinead O'Sullivan, an economist who previously worked for NASA, told the BBC in June that she views SpaceX as an "Elon Musk ego project." She added, "You're buying a share of the Elon Musk brand more than any kind of space industry."

However, Ron Epstein, an aerospace analyst at Bank of America Securities, believes that recent share price fluctuations are more indicative of the market than the company itself. "A lot of it has to do with macro trends," he explained. "None of it really has anything to do with what's going on fundamentally at the company." He argued that investors who solely view SpaceX as an AI investment are missing the broader picture: "They're not just a compute provider. They're not just an AI company. It's a far more complicated picture than that."

Epstein further noted that SpaceX has reduced the cost of reaching orbit from approximately $10,000-$20,000 per kilogram to about $2,000 with its Falcon 9 rocket, effectively building "a railroad to space."

Lavoie, for his part, remains unfazed. He stated, "The solid business model of SpaceX will prove itself to be worth the investment," even as he begins to realize some of his gains.

**SpaceX Shares Decline After Initial Earnings Report Reveals Significant AI Spending Plans**