Does anyone think it's crazy that a glorified messaging app is valued at $16B and that SpaceX, a company that puts things into orbit and literally does rocket science, is only $10B?<p>I'm sure WhatsApp is an outlier because I see it brought up all the time when the topic of valuation arises but it still seems like SpaceX should be worth a lot more to me.
Will Elon maintain a controlling interest? I'd imagine going to Mars won't be very profitable, how does that goal jibe with being a for profit company with large investors?
We live in a strange time when a company that has successfully flown useful cargo into space on their own hardware has a valuation around 50% of the most popular messaging app.
Sigh, in this new world of multiple series I don't think I'll get a chance to invest at all "early" in this company but I would if I could :-). One of those companies that I really like the product. So I continue to wait for their IPO if they decide to go that route.
I think of Spacex being more like the rail roads in the 1800's. Elon is building the infrastructure so that when launch costs do come down, there will be an explosion of off Earth economic activity. And Spacex will be there with the tickets.<p>Colonizing Mars may be a driver and talking point now, but will be minor in the long run. Asteroid mining, orbital habitats, Moon resorts (with flying domes ala Heinlein), Comet water chasing, it's all open. Mars' role may be huge, it's sooo much easier to get to orbit from Mars than it is from Earth.
> SpaceX has raised $245.5 million in private backing<p>Looks like SpaceX's total funding is $400-500 million (private + Musk + VCs and excluding income). It's astounding what they've accomplished with such a relatively small amount of money compared to NASA's budget.