{"id":6130,"date":"2026-08-06T09:16:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T09:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessdailydigest.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/06\/spacex-hit-by-surging-ai-costs-as-insiders-prepare-to-sell-their-shares\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T09:16:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T09:16:45","slug":"spacex-hit-by-surging-ai-costs-as-insiders-prepare-to-sell-their-shares","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessdailydigest.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/06\/spacex-hit-by-surging-ai-costs-as-insiders-prepare-to-sell-their-shares\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX hit by surging AI costs as insiders prepare to sell their shares"},"content":{"rendered":"

For a rocket company, SpaceX is spending a lot of money to build out its AI capacities.<\/p>\n

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Too much, according to investors. <\/p>\n

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The company reported revenue in its first quarterly update as a public company that surpassed analysts\u2019 expectations. Most of its revenue came from its Starlink satellite offering. <\/p>\n

But investor focus turned to capital expenditures related to its xAI unit, which runs the Grok AI service. Those hit $15.8 billion, higher than expectations of $13.09 billion, according to Bloomberg News data, and about double the previous quarter. The AI spending also accounted for most of SpaceX\u2019s overall $18.4 billion quarterly spending on capital expenditures.<\/p>\n

The report caused SpaceX shares to reverse a healthy run-up during regular trading hours Tuesday. The stock fell over 10% before Wednesday\u2019s market open, after having surged 9% ahead of its report Tuesday. <\/p>\n

Musk at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Gr\u00fcnheide, Germany, in March 2022. <\/span>Patrick Pleul \/ AFP via Getty Images file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SpaceX immediately became a multitrillion-dollar company after a record-setting IPO on June 12 \u2014 but nearly just as quickly, it erased $1 trillion in value as the stock plunged amid anticipation of insider stock sales and broader jitters about the pace of AI spending.<\/p>\n

Still, it continues to enjoy a market valuation of more than $1 trillion, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world. The stock got an additional boost Tuesday when the company announced a deal with Nvidia to partner on a future satellite project.<\/p>\n

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That announcement sent shares of other data center infrastructure providers like AMD lower. SpaceX\u2019s strong results in its Starlink connectivity division also knocked shares of major wireless carriers, including AT&T and Verizon, as well as Viasat, which now faces competition from SpaceX for providing uplinks on airplanes. <\/p>\n

Investor speculation that SpaceX may try to merge with its sister company Tesla has grown. That would give Elon Musk even more control over his multifaceted technology empire than he already exerts. <\/p>\n

The vast majority of SpaceX\u2019s stock is privately held, with just 5% of the 13.9 billion shares trading on the open market.<\/p>\n

Along with Musk, who owns about 42%, the other shareholders are known to regulators as \u201cinsiders\u201d and have been barred so far from selling their shares. <\/p>\n

That \u201clockup period\u201d will expire Wednesday, when up to 20% of the total SpaceX shares held by insiders may be sold on the open market.<\/p>\n

More shares on the market equals more supply, which means the price per share is likely to fall further.<\/p>\n

But some retail investors aren\u2019t concerned by the steep drop in SpaceX\u2019s share price.<\/p>\n

Forde Todd, 20, received three shares of SpaceX stock as part of the company\u2019s IPO, then bought and sold several more on the open market. <\/p>\n

Todd told NBC News he plans to hold on to his IPO shares despite the stock\u2019s plunge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in it for the love of the game \u2014 like, I\u2019m in it for SpaceX,\u201d Todd said. \u201cI truly believe in this company.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, everybody is going to want a part in the space economy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com<\/p>\n

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