SpaceX Starship abort wipes $100bn from market value
A last-second engine failure during a Starship test flight erased $100 billion in market capitalization, underscoring investor impatience with the high-cost rocket program that underpins the company's future growth.
SpaceX aborted the 13th test flight of its Starship rocket on Thursday after an automated command shut down the engines, sending newly public shares down 6 per cent to $124.30. The brief scrub erased roughly $100 billion in equity value and accelerated a decline that had already pushed the stock below its $135 IPO price. The company is now targeting Monday for a second attempt.
The severe market reaction highlights the immense financial weight resting on the $15 billion rocket program. SpaceX needs Starship to become operational to deploy thousands of AI-processing satellites and expand its Starlink network to beam service directly to mobile devices. The company aims to launch the first Starlink satellites on Starship by year-end.
Four of the booster’s 33 Raptor engines failed to ignite before the automated abort triggered. Elon Musk wrote on X that the stoppage occurred because "some of the engines didn't start." The company has since hoisted the upper stage off the booster to swap out two engines before the next launch window.
SpaceX engineers framed the abort as a standard part of the company’s test-to-failure development ethos. Shana Diez, director of Starship engineering, noted on X that this was the first time a fully stacked rocket lit its engines and then aborted. "While similar to a wet dress rehearsal," she said, "there is a lot going on and any first time operation comes with additional risk."
Production engineer Jessie Anderson added that the procedure represents safe learning. "This is how we learn safely and implement mitigations for all scenarios," she said. The upcoming 13th flight will still carry 20 Starlink satellites to test a dispensing system, though they will burn up in the atmosphere on a suborbital trajectory.
Some long-term investors remain unbothered by the volatility. Chad Anderson, CEO of Space Capital and a SpaceX investor since 2017, pointed to the broader infrastructure cycle. "If this is how the market reacts to a precautionary abort, I can't wait to see how it responds to a successful flight," he said. "Zoom out and none of this changes the thesis: we're in the early innings of a multi-decade infrastructure cycle, and Starship is the centerpiece. Day-to-day price action is noise against the backdrop. This is a long-term opportunity."
