Boeing (NYSE:BA) finally managed to get its Starliner capsule into space yesterday after a long and arduous process. Meanwhile, SpaceX successfully saw its Starship rocket re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in a test flight earlier today. That proved good news for SpaceX and, in sympathy, for EV maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) (both run by Elon Musk), which gained fractionally in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
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Starship launched from the Boca Chica, Texas, Starbase facility at about 8:50 ET this morning. Just minutes later, the booster hit the Gulf of Mexico, which by itself was an achievement. The booster is meant to be reused, and getting a booster that can land successfully is a key point of Starship’s development. Meanwhile, Starship itself came back to Earth about an hour after launch and splashed down into the Indian Ocean. The rocket survived, though there was some “debris” seen on the video of re-entry.
Not Just Rockets
SpaceX has been keeping busy. Not only did it just launch its full-size rocket, but it also sent up 20 new Starlink satellites. Those went up Tuesday, launched from Cape Canaveral’s Space Force Station. Moreover, 13 of the 20 satellites sent up had direct-to-cell capability built in, so Starlink’s ambitions of spreading to cell service are also on the rise. SpaceX may not be publicly traded as yet, but it’s likely to deliver a lot of value to shareholders whenever it does open up.
Is Tesla a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on nine Buys, 14 Holds, and nine Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 21.91% loss in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $174.60 per share implies 0.65% downside risk.
