SpaceX vs. MP Materials: 2 Very Different Ways to Bet on the Next Decade of Tech

Space Exploration Technologies Corp (NASDAQ: SPCX) and MP Materials (NYSE: MP) are wildly different companies, but they are both building core infrastructure for the next decade of technology: one in the sky, the other deep in the supply chain.

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SpaceX is the new attractive tech investment

On the SpaceX side, you are really betting on two intertwined technologies, Starlink and Starship. Starlink is already a mega‑constellation of more than ten thousand low Earth orbit satellites that use phased-array antennas and optical-fiber links to move data around the planet with much lower latency than traditional satellite internet. Each satellite carries multiple space lasers capable of up to 200 gigabits per second in aggregate, and newer mini lasers deliver 25 gigabits per second at distances up to 4,000 kilometers, creating a mesh in space that routes traffic without relying on a dense network of ground stations. The coming Starlink V3 hardware pushes that further, with each satellite designed for roughly 1 terabit per second of downlink capacity and 160 gigabits per second of uplink, optimized to ride on the heavy-lift Starship rocket and to support direct‑to‑device cellular service.

Starship itself is another big part of the tech thesis. It is a two-stage, fully reusable methane‑fueled launch system built from stainless steel, powered by Raptor engines that use a full‑flow staged combustion cycle, one of the most demanding designs in rocketry. The latest Raptor 3 engines target up to 300 tons of thrust each, use proprietary superalloys and 3D-printed cooling channels to withstand extreme pressures and temperatures, and are designed for rapid reuse without heavy engine heat shields. If SpaceX makes this system truly reliable, it could lower the cost of putting mass and bandwidth into orbit by an order of magnitude.

MP Materials is an EV and motor play

MP Materials offers a completely different angle. Instead of satellites and rockets, it produces the rare-earth materials and magnets that sit inside EV motors, wind turbines, data center equipment, and countless other devices. Its Mountain Pass site in California is currently the only commercial-scale rare earth mine and processing facility in the United States, producing high-purity neodymium and praseodymium that feed downstream manufacturing. In Texas, MP is building a 1.25 billion dollar magnet manufacturing campus called 10X that will eventually bring its total magnet output to around 10,000 metric tons per year, on top of an existing Fort Worth plant that can produce about 3,000 tons annually for customers like General Motors and Apple. The company also has a long-term agreement to supply U.S.-sourced rare earth materials, alloy, and finished magnets for GM's Ultium EV platform, making it a critical link in the domestic EV supply chain.

So SpaceX is a bet on orbital bandwidth and reusable launch hardware that could redefine connectivity and access to space, while MP Materials is a bet on the "picks and shovels" of electrification and high-performance motors. One is mostly about software‑defined networks riding on cutting-edge rockets, the other about physical materials and magnets that every advanced technology stack quietly depends on. If you want exposure to the next decade of tech, think about both of these companies.

Micah Zimmerman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple and MP Materials. The Motley Fool recommends General Motors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.