So, car company executives: Who's got the bigger rocket?
A subtle but obvious dig at Tesla CEO Elon Musk came from none other than Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda at CES 2025 yesterday, amid his keynote speech about the Woven City project in Japan. That development is part of Toyota's goal of transitioning from being a traditional car company to one focused on "producing mobility and happiness for all," as officials put it.
But as part of Toyota's branching out into new areas, it's also investing ¥7 billion ($44 million) into the Japanese private spaceflight company Interstellar Technologies Inc. That investment comes from the automaker's technology division, Woven by Toyota, and as Bloomberg confirmed, Toyota will gain a seat on Interstellar Technologies' board of directors. The two companies have been collaborating in other ways since 2020.
"We believe that by combining our strengths with those from different industries, we will be able to create new products and new services we could never achieve on our own," Toyoda said in his speech. "The sky is the limit."
As part of that, "We are exploring rockets because the future of mobility shouldn't be limited to just earth," Toyoda said, "or just one car company, for that matter."
But even if Interstellar Technologies' flights take off—literally and figuratively—it has a long way to go to match the presence of Musk's SpaceX. Last year, SpaceX conducted 134 rocket launches, a nearly 40% increase from the year prior. SpaceX has conducted more orbital launches than the rest of the world combined and is now essentially the go-to company for rocket missions.
However, the demand for private space launches—including efforts like satellite launches and eventually even exploration—is expected to rise significantly in the coming years and decades. However, while the U.S. and China lead the way in launches, other countries like Japan trail far behind.
"In contrast, Japan conducted just three launches (in 2023), highlighting the need for growth in domestic launch capacity," Interstellar Technologies said in a news release about the Toyota investment. Besides capital, the space company said it will use Toyota's production expertise "to transition rocket manufacturing into a high-quality, cost-effective, and scalable process."
For Toyota's part, the investment in Interstellar Technologies represents more moves by its Woven R&D unit, $800 million Woven Capital growth fund and Toyota Ventures early-stage capital firm to do more than just cars. Those have included investments in aerial taxi company Joby, New York-based electric rideshare and charging company Revel and robotic delivery company Nuro. Soon, it wants to add as many as 2,000 residents, including "inventors" and startup employees, to work and live in Woven City near Mount Fuji.
As Tesla has proven already, no car company wants to just be a car company in the future. And maybe if this Toyota investment goes well enough, Musk will have a little competition out there among the stars.
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
