Of the wide list of companies Elon Musk heads up, the most prominent are Tesla (TSLA) -) and SpaceX. And while Tesla has been dominating the electric vehicle market, SpaceX has been more than leading the aerospace sector.
The space exploration company has launched 80% of all mass to orbit so far for 2023, multiples beyond its nearest competition. China, Musk said, accounts for around 10% of mass to orbit; the rest of the world combined makes up that final 10% slice.
Related: Regulators ground Elon Musk's Starship for the foreseeable future
Musk said that by next year, SpaceX will be responsible for sending 90% of all mass to orbit. And once the company's Starship project gets up and running, he expects that number to exceed 99%.
SpaceX's growing prominence in the aerospace industry has Vikram Nidamaluri, managing director of telecom, media and entertainment at Lazard, a global investment bank, worried.
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"Having such a dominant launch provider is probably not healthy just in general for the commercial prospects of the industry,” Nidamaluri said during a panel at the World Satellite Business Week conference Sept. 11. “No one wants a monopoly choking out one point of the value chain. There are obviously other players that are ramping up capacity but I think the timeline hasn’t moved forward rapidly enough.”
SpaceX, which recently launched its 63rd mission of the year, beating out its 2022 record of 61 missions, has averaged a launch every four days throughout 2023.
The company's Starship project was recently grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration, pending SpaceX's completion of 63 corrective actions. Once the list is complete, SpaceX will be able to re-apply for a license to launch Starship on its second test flight.
Tory Bruno, the chief executive of United Launch Alliance, a rocket launch competitor, said during the same panel that he doesn't see SpaceX as a monopoly.
“I appreciate the sentiment that [SpaceX] will be a benevolent monopoly, I don’t think you’re a monopoly and I don’t think it’s our plan for you to become one,” Bruno said.
ULA has completed two launches to SpaceX's 63 for the year.
If you work for SpaceX, contact Ian by email ian.krietzberg@thearenagroup.net or Signal 732-804-1223
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