On September 11th, for the past 15 years, Tesla (TSLA.O) stood as the sole public market avenue for investors seeking exposure to companies linked with Elon Musk. However, this unique investment landscape shifted with SpaceX (SPCX.O) commencing trading in June, posing a challenge to Tesla's previously unchallenged position. Over the three months post-SpaceX's public listing, Tesla's share price experienced an 8.9% decline, contrasting sharply with the S&P 500 index's 2.7% gain during the same timeframe. Conversely, SpaceX's share price has surged by 9.8% from its initial offering price of $135 on June 11th. The underperformance of Tesla's stock can be attributed to its recent financial disclosures and product introductions, both of which have not fully showcased the success of the company's pivot towards tangible AI products. Lale Akoner, Global Market Strategist at eToro, highlighted that investors perceive SpaceX as a more growth-centric investment, whereas Tesla is viewed as a riskier transformative play. Dave Mazza, CEO of Roundhill Financial, remarked that SpaceX must demonstrate its capability to achieve annualized revenues of $100 billion, while Tesla needs to prove that it transcends being merely the 'Musk concept stock' that investors embraced prior to SpaceX's public debut.
