SpaceX Is Now One of the World’s Most Valuable Privately Held Companies • Hacker News Board

Re: SpaceX Is Now One of the World’s Most Valuable Privately Held Companies

#91

Post by gozur88 » Fri, Jul 28, 2017, 5:04 AM UTC

InclinedPlane wrote: post #61

gozur88 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being publicly traded never necessarily meant you focus on short term. If that were actually true you'd never have seen Intel shelling out $15bn for a fab, or Westinghouse designing nuclear reactors.

Bad example. One of those companies went bankrupt recently.

I realize that, but it doesn't make it a bad example. Certainly the shareholders were taking the long view when they allowed such a massive R&D program to go forward. The fact that it didn't work out is neither here nor there.

Re: SpaceX Is Now One of the World’s Most Valuable Privately Held Companies

#92

Post by anovikov » Fri, Jul 28, 2017, 5:11 AM UTC

loeg wrote: post #4

> Mr. Musk faces competition from another billionaire. Blue Origin, a rocket company founded by Jeff Bezos, the chief executive of Amazon, aims to send tourists and supplies into space. Is that line even close to true? Last I heard Blue Origin was years away from revenue and far behind SpaceX in terms of capability and manufacturing.

Bezos is the richest man in the world, and he definitely knows what he is doing. If anyone is able to compete with Musk it is Bezos... sorry for all these assorted Commies on the other side of the globe.

Re: SpaceX Is Now One of the World’s Most Valuable Privately Held Companies

#93

Post by MPSimmons » Fri, Jul 28, 2017, 5:11 AM UTC

troyastorino wrote: post #56

BlackjackCF wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe not right now, but I wouldn't ever underestimate Bezos. Musk and Bezos are both people I wouldn't bet against, but they're so drastically different in their styles. Musk is flashy, but gets shit done. Bezos knows how to get shit done quietly... and suddenly he's dominated and bought everything around you.

Blue Origin has turtles in it's coat of arms because the strategy is slow and steady...Bezos doesn't feel the need to compete on speed here.

It seems that's the case. It was founded two years before SpaceX.

Re: SpaceX Is Now One of the World’s Most Valuable Privately Held Companies

#94

Post by MPSimmons » Fri, Jul 28, 2017, 5:15 AM UTC

valuearb wrote: post #82

grondilu wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BO's New Sheppard is far advanced into sending tourists into space, albeit not in orbit.

It's only about 10% of the way to orbit. It's practically a toy.

But to fair, as far as toys go, it's a pretty cool toy.

Launching a liquid fueled rocket to space (even if it's just space) and then landing it is not easy.

Re: SpaceX Is Now One of the World’s Most Valuable Privately Held Companies

#95

Post by NumberCruncher » Fri, Jul 28, 2017, 5:21 AM UTC

And what about Basecamp with its 100 billion valuation?

Re: SpaceX Is Now One of the World’s Most Valuable Privately Held Companies

#96

Post by fsloth » Fri, Jul 28, 2017, 5:22 AM UTC

icelancer wrote: post #73

BatFastard wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are not failing, then you are not trying enough new things. Amazon has been successful a lot, a LOT more often than they have failed.

I think that is probably false. They have way more failures than successes, but the successes far outpace the losses in output.

I think more failures than successes can be interpreted as a healthy appetite for product experimentation. The other option in todays world would be not to innovate except through purchases of established product families from other companies and acquisitions.

Re: SpaceX Is Now One of the World’s Most Valuable Privately Held Companies

#97

Post by elif » Fri, Jul 28, 2017, 5:24 AM UTC

strictnein wrote: post #69

I mean, SpaceX is great and all, but it's no Cargill or even in the same league as Cargill or other similar companies like Koch (which is #2 in the US): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargill Revenue: US$109.6 billion (2017)[1] Net income: US$2.835 billion (2017)[1] Total assets: US$55.8 billion 25% of all United States grain exports 22% of the US domestic meat market

Yeah I found the valuation mildly depressing for similar contexts.. considering the total value of spaceX is less than half of the proposed ~increase~ to annual US military expenditure this year.

We could afford 2 fully-blown spaceX per year just by maintaining our present disproportionately large military rather than expanding it by roughly a Great Britain this year.

Re: SpaceX Is Now One of the World’s Most Valuable Privately Held Companies

#98

Post by fsloth » Fri, Jul 28, 2017, 5:25 AM UTC

valuearb wrote: post #81

Inconel wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe I read about a month or so ago that Bezos plans on selling ~$1 billion worth of stock annually to fund BO, I could be misremembering the exact figures though. Even at that burn rate, assuming Amazon continues to do well, I don't think it will be too much of a drain on his wealth. Plus, he seems like a pretty long term thinker so I don't think he'll throw in the towel even in FH captures a big chunk of heavy…

Bezos started BO around the same time as SpaceX, and has spent just as much money if not more, and accomplished next to nothing. He will need to pour many additional billions in to even make a race of it, the way the BO turtle moves.

Maybe he's hired the rocket guys who can't take SpaceX's speed and like to actually spend evenings at home with their family :)? Only half kidding here.

Re: SpaceX Is Now One of the World’s Most Valuable Privately Held Companies

#99

Post by nugga » Fri, Jul 28, 2017, 5:32 AM UTC

microcolonel wrote: post #64

dbosch wrote: post #58

"World's most valuable privately held companies". Sounds weird, no? What about Vitol ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitol ), Saudi Aramco, Koch Industries ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_Industries ) ... etc ?

This is what you call a fluff piece. HN and the broader computer technology industry is sycophantic for Elon Musk, and will ignore that all of his companies would be dead in the water if it weren't for the questionable appropriation of government funds, at least if they spent and marketed the way that they do. The products are great, but the money comes out of everyone's pockets. You're all paying for some guy's Mode…

The old/print media likes to flaunt misleading headlines where Musks seems to be getting billion dollar subsidies from state and federal government but they're more like hit pieces if anything.

http://www.cnbc.com/video/2015/06/01/musk-article-on-subsidi...

Re: SpaceX Is Now One of the World’s Most Valuable Privately Held Companies

#100

Post by LoSboccacc » Fri, Jul 28, 2017, 5:34 AM UTC

rl3 wrote: post #78

troyastorino wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Blue Origin has turtles in it's coat of arms because the strategy is slow and steady...Bezos doesn't feel the need to compete on speed here.

I'm neither an Amazon nor Bezos fan, but that ethos is something I respect. Rocketry isn't something you rush. Frankly I'm surprised SpaceX hasn't had more mishaps given the breakneck speed at which they operate.

Most kinks of space travel were worked out in the '60s and spacex is pushing for reliability specifically, not for payload capacity - coincidentally that's where they're pushing the envelope and getting most of the failures.