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SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

bloomberg.com

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Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#31

Post by minthd »

cryptoz wrote: post #26
skadamat wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, it's a bit silly to assume that all Google cares about is ad revenue. Plus, improving internet accessibility and making more revenue aren't mutually exclusive. Why do self driving cars? Def no ad revenue there.

I agree with you completely until > Why do self driving cars? Def no ad revenue there. Sure there is. Many people commute in their cars for 1-2 hours per day, when it is illegal for them to look at ads on their smartphone. If Google makes this legal, it's another 10%ish increase in the waking hours that people may be clicking on their ads. I think that Google's ambitions are a lot higher than this, of course. Self-dr…

I don't believe ad revenue in self-driving cars will be meaningful. I don't think google will force people to watch ads after they pay for being driven.Maybe only as a discount ,but most will prefer not to, the same way that today, there aren't any attractive options to watch ads for pay.

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#32

Post by adventured »

tiffanyh wrote: post #25

>> "SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash" Re: Google investment of $1B. I'm not an accountant, but when did taking investment money constitute making a business "profitable"?

They're not making that claim. Bloomberg is a high quality source for financial / business related news, their writers are extremely unlikely to confuse such a basic financial matter.

The "as" in the title isn't meant to be a "because of Google cash," rather it's an elaboration of the present context of SpaceX, noting they're both profitable and have the cash from Google.

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#33

Post by bengali3 »

tiffanyh wrote: post #25

>> "SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash" Re: Google investment of $1B. I'm not an accountant, but when did taking investment money constitute making a business "profitable"?

I had to reread as well. The 'as' separates the events. ( but how else can I get hot terms like SpaceX, Google, NASA, Musk and Profitable in a title!)

think 'John types on the keyboard at his house as Jeff arrives to work'

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#34

Post by vertex-four »

minthd wrote: post #31
cryptoz wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you completely until > Why do self driving cars? Def no ad revenue there. Sure there is. Many people commute in their cars for 1-2 hours per day, when it is illegal for them to look at ads on their smartphone. If Google makes this legal, it's another 10%ish increase in the waking hours that people may be clicking on their ads. I think that Google's ambitions are a lot higher than this, of course. Self-dr…

I don't believe ad revenue in self-driving cars will be meaningful. I don't think google will force people to watch ads after they pay for being driven.Maybe only as a discount ,but most will prefer not to, the same way that today, there aren't any attractive options to watch ads for pay.

Not force, but the fact is that people will have more time to do whatever they want while their car drives them somewhere, during which many will be browsing the Internet through choice, and browsing the Internet generally involves looking at ads.

Frankly, I'm not entirely sure such a roundabout benefit even comes up in management's eyes compared to the difficulty of getting self-driving cars working and on the roads, but it is one.

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#35

Post by sandworm »

I have trouble trusting business statements from companies in the space industry. They play in a world of secrets, classified technologies and continuous background checks. At every launch, over in the corner, sits a uniformed member of the US military and a switch. That switch is to destroy the rocket should it run off course.

SpaceX might be profitable today. It might be very profitable tomorrow. But because of the classified nature of the industry that can change in a heartbeat. Fall out of favour with certain government agencies and suddenly that constant stream of background checks slows, deadlines get missed, and profits become loss. There are many fingers on many kill switches.

Maybe the company is or will be a great success, but that success comes only with permission. Investors beware: Balance sheets are only half the story. The other half is not open for inspection.

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#36

Post by jccooper »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #14
mtrpcic wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The spaceport is being built specifically to accommodate SpaceX rockets. The idea is to have the rocket automatically fueled when it gets docked, use robotics to stand things up, and add a bit more automation to the overall process. There are a few articles about it online, but I just found this one from Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-07-11/elon-musks-f... It's not the be-all and end-all of spac…

I don't believe launches from the Cape have enough fuel to boost back to Boca Chica though, do they?

No. Cape launches would land back at the Cape.

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#37

Post by loceng »

sandworm wrote: post #35

I have trouble trusting business statements from companies in the space industry. They play in a world of secrets, classified technologies and continuous background checks. At every launch, over in the corner, sits a uniformed member of the US military and a switch. That switch is to destroy the rocket should it run off course. SpaceX might be profitable today. It might be very profitable tomorrow. But because of the…

Well, they're offering an economic benefit (cheaper) to those who want it, with the U.S. government (and I imagine primarily military) with interest in seeing this succeed and anything that allows rapid deployment of whatever (slightly terrifying) into space.

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#38

Post by sandworm »

loceng wrote: post #37
sandworm wrote: post #35

I have trouble trusting business statements from companies in the space industry. They play in a world of secrets, classified technologies and continuous background checks. At every launch, over in the corner, sits a uniformed member of the US military and a switch. That switch is to destroy the rocket should it run off course. SpaceX might be profitable today. It might be very profitable tomorrow. But because of the…

Well, they're offering an economic benefit (cheaper) to those who want it, with the U.S. government (and I imagine primarily military) with interest in seeing this succeed and anything that allows rapid deployment of whatever (slightly terrifying) into space.

That is to assume that those customers care about economic benefit. Frankly, if cost were their only concern, the US military would have abandoned ULA and gone with SpaceX long ago.

I'm reminded of the first calls (90s->2002, not the later programs) for bids to replace the KC-135. There were only two real contenders, Airbus and Boeing. Airbus's first reaction was essentially: "why even bother."

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#39

Post by aros »

quonn wrote: post #28
josephjrobison wrote: post #17

I love how the writer phrased Google's incentive for investing as "Google has a practical goal in linking up with SpaceX. It wants to beam the Internet to hard-to-reach regions of the planet so it can take in more advertising revenue." While... "'Space-based applications, like imaging satellites, can help people more easily access important information, so we’re excited to support SpaceX’s growth,' Google spokesman A…

Yeah, it's fashionable to point out that Google does what it does to sell more ads. But isn't this getting very boring? We don't hear things like "x is making a TV program to sell more ads" or "x is making a new car to take in more revenue".

I believe it's necessary to repeat this point because of the constant churn of new users who are otherwise ignorant of Google's business model. I still hear people say, "I'm so glad Google is nice enough to give us free apps!"

Re: SpaceX Profitable as Musk Pulls in NASA Contracts, Google Cash

#40

Post by aros »

skadamat wrote: post #24
josephjrobison wrote: post #17

I love how the writer phrased Google's incentive for investing as "Google has a practical goal in linking up with SpaceX. It wants to beam the Internet to hard-to-reach regions of the planet so it can take in more advertising revenue." While... "'Space-based applications, like imaging satellites, can help people more easily access important information, so we’re excited to support SpaceX’s growth,' Google spokesman A…

Agreed, it's a bit silly to assume that all Google cares about is ad revenue. Plus, improving internet accessibility and making more revenue aren't mutually exclusive. Why do self driving cars? Def no ad revenue there.

It isn't silly to assume considering that an overwhelming majority of Google's revenue comes directly from advertisements.

As for self driving cars, I can think of a ton of marketing use cases including tracking how often people drive, where they go, how long they stay there, the frequency in which someone goes to a location, what type of features in the car the user takes advantage of...

And that's just from the top of my head in 30 seconds. I'm sure the marketing kids at Google can think of far more ways to milk you.

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