Cashing in on SpaceX: 'Every chance I get, I'll sell a little more'

Every chance he gets, SpaceX employee Andre Lavoie plans to sell a little more of his shares in the company. He joined SpaceX in 2009 as an engineer, and his 200,000 shares are now worth around $23 million. Lavoie says he will start selling his shares as soon as he can, as their value has skyrocketed and it's difficult to predict the future.

SpaceX's shares were released in stages after listing on the Nasdaq in June, with the first 20% going public in August. Early investors like Lavoie are among an estimated 4,400 new millionaires created by the company's IPO. SpaceX's revenue nearly doubled to $7.8 billion in its first quarter as a public company, while spending increased to $18.3 billion.

Despite this, the company made a net loss of $143 million in the three months to June and $2 billion in the first six months of the year. SpaceX founder Elon Musk remains optimistic about the company's future, particularly its Starlink satellite internet service, which he believes could one day provide internet to most of the world.

However, shares in the company fell 13.6% after the earnings report, with investors concerned about the high spending on AI. Lavoie plans to use his earnings to fund a hotel renovation in Italy and a small brewery, while also working to raise awareness of air pollution in the region. While some analysts value SpaceX at less than half its current stock price, warning of financial risks tied to its ties with xAI, SpaceX's co-founder remains confident in the company's business model, which has cut the cost of reaching orbit from $10,000-$20,000 to about $2,000 with its Falcon 9 rocket.