Bill Ackman Says "Never Bet Against Elon," Even as He Passes on SpaceX Stock. Here's Why He's Staying Out.

Billionaire Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, gave his thoughts on Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) and Elon Musk in a recent interview with Money News Network. He spoke highly of Musk, calling him the most talented technologist and entrepreneur of our generation, and said, "The word is to never bet against Elon."

He also called SpaceX a very interesting business, but said he isn't touching it right now. If you've been considering buying this space stock on the dip, Ackman provided some useful analysis on what it does well and its main issue.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

What Bill Ackman likes about SpaceX

SpaceX has three core business segments: space launches, Starlink internet service, and AI. Ackman heaped the most praise on Starlink, saying it's "enormously profitable" and a "near monopoly" on global satellite internet service, both of which are accurate assessments. SpaceX's connectivity segment, which is powered by Starlink, earned operating income of $4.4 billion in 2025. In terms of having a near monopoly, Starlink surpassed 12 million subscribers in June, and it accounted for 97.1% of all Ookla's global satellite speedtest samples in Q3 2025.

Ackman also credited the company's space and data infrastructure businesses, noting that "if you want to rent 100,000 GPUs, [SpaceX] is about the only place you can do that." It's worth pointing out that although Ackman says SpaceX is earning high returns on its assets, Starlink is its only profitable business based on the data currently available. Space launches posted a small loss in 2025, and AI had an operating income of negative $6.4 billion.

Why Ackman isn't investing

The question about SpaceX, according to Ackman, is price. Because SpaceX went public at a $1.77 trillion valuation, that impacts the upside. The valuation has since come down to $1.43 trillion as of July 31, which isn't surprising. The space company was very richly valued from the beginning, and even after dropping quite a bit, it still trades at about 75 times last year's $18.7 billion in sales.

Ackman also explained that SpaceX doesn't have the predictability that Pershing Square looks for. That makes sense when you compare it to Pershing Square's major holdings, such as Brookfield Corporation, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms -- all of which are highly profitable businesses.

SpaceX, on the other hand, is a mix of a capital-intensive rocket launch business, a profitable satellite internet service, and an AI company that's burning money. It acquired the AI business only in February of this year, and there's limited financial information available since it went public in June.

Predictability isn't a requirement for every investor, so that's not necessarily a reason to rule out SpaceX for your own portfolio. But the price is a legitimate concern. The valuation remains high, and the company's first lockup period expiration begins on Aug. 6, which could create more selling pressure. With that in mind, it's best to take a cautious approach if you invest in SpaceX, or just keep it on your watch list for now.

Lyle Daly has positions in Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Brookfield Corporation, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.