ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood said Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s (NASDAQ:SPCX) Starship could become a billion-dollar-per-launch revenue engine, arguing that Elon Musk’s planned launch cadence could translate into $10 trillion in annual Starship revenue by 2030.
Wood Makes $10 Trillion Starship Bet
"Each Starship launch could generate $1 billion in revenue. Elon is aiming for 10,000 flights per year, or $10 trillion in Starship revenues, by 2030," Wood wrote on X. She added that if SpaceX reaches that goal, its $1.75 trillion IPO "will be considered, in hindsight, a deep value opportunity!"
Musk replied to the post saying, "It’s not impossible."
Starlink V3 Supercharges ARK’s Revenue Math
Wood was amplifying ARK researcher Sam Korus, who estimates Starlink currently monetizes roughly $19 million of revenue per terabit per second of capacity. Korus estimates that a Starship launch could add roughly 61 Tbps of capacity, implying about $1 billion in connectivity revenue at his current monetization rate. He also cautioned that revenue per Tbps should decline as capacity expands.
SpaceX’s own filings support the capacity jump behind ARK’s model, though not its revenue projection. The company says each V3 satellite is designed to deliver 1 Tbps of downlink capacity, while Starship could eventually deploy up to 60 V3 satellites at once. That represents more than 20 times the Starlink downlink capacity of a Falcon 9 launch.
V3 Deployment Puts Thesis To Test
Musk separately confirmed Tuesday that SpaceX will begin deploying its next-generation Starlink V3 constellation this month, saying it will eventually deliver more than 100 times the bandwidth of Starlink’s current roughly 11,000-satellite network. SpaceX now targets Starship Flight 14 for Sept. 22, pending regulatory approval. The mission would mark Starship’s first orbital flight and begin operational V3 deployment.
The shift also puts Starship on a path toward generating revenue. SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen said this month that Flight 14 will carry production V3 satellites and become Starship’s first "revenue-generating flight."
It is worth noting that Wood’s $10 trillion figure remains an extrapolation and not SpaceX guidance. Musk said in June that SpaceX "might be able to reach approximately $1T revenue in 2030." The company generated $18.67 billion in revenue in 2025. SpaceX priced its June IPO at $135 per share, raising $75 billion at roughly a $1.77 trillion valuation before shares rose on their Nasdaq debut.
Price Action: SpaceX shares were down 0.58% to $142.66 during after-hours trading on Tuesday.
Benzinga edge rankings indicate SpaceX’s stock has a positive price trend across the Short, Medium and Long term.
Photo courtesy: Samuel Boivin / Shutterstock.com
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