SpaceX stock (SPCX) fell about 3% on Wednesday, extending Tuesday's 2% decline, as investors weighed a new competitive milestone from Chinese rocket maker LandSpace and a fresh wave of shares set to become eligible for sale.
LandSpace successfully landed the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket, marking the first ground recovery of an orbital-class booster by a private Chinese company. The 216-foot Zhuque-3 can carry roughly 14.2 metric tons to low Earth orbit, less than the Falcon 9's 22.8 metric tons, but the achievement highlights that competitors are narrowing SpaceX's reusable-rocket advantage.
At the same time, about 319 million SpaceX shares held by early investors and employees are scheduled to unlock on Aug. 20. That follows roughly 912 million shares that became available on Aug. 6, with more than 700 million expected in September and more than 650 million in October. By year-end, about 4.9 billion shares will have become tradable. SpaceX priced its IPO at $135, closed its first trading day at $161.11, peaked at $225.64, and later traded around $105.
UBS reiterated a Buy rating and $210 price target, citing SpaceX's position as a major cloud provider and frontier model. The bank models 3 million U.S. Starlink subscribers currently, 6 million by end-2027 and 20 million by end-2031.
Tesla stock (TSLA) gained 3% on Wednesday, ending a two-session losing streak. The company teased a potential Cybercab launch event on X, saying customers who ride a Tesla robotaxi through Aug. 23 could receive an invitation. Tesla launched its AI-trained robotaxi service in Austin in June 2025 using Model Y vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving software, and plans to add a purpose-built Cybercab without a steering wheel.
Wall Street consensus on Tesla remains a Hold, with 10 Buy, 15 Hold and 3 Sell ratings and an average price target of $385.04, implying about 10.33% upside. Regulatory friction remains: Tesla requested 5,000 robotaxi permits from Nevada but was granted 10, with limits to one section of the Las Vegas Strip, a 45 mph speed cap and airport restrictions. Former Tesla executive Jon McNeill also suggested Tesla and SpaceX "could come together probably sooner rather than later," but the Cybercab remains the near-term focus.
