Oklo Stock First Dropped -- Then Popped Today
Key Points
Oklo is developing nuclear power plants to power data centers on Earth.
Elon Musk has a plan to put data centers in space, where nuclear power won't be needed.
- 10 stocks we like better than Oklo ›
SpaceX is planning to IPO, and this could be bad news for Oklo (NYSE: OKLO). Shares of the start-up atomic technology stock fell more than 6% in early trading Thursday before finding their footing. As of 2:25 p.m. ET, Oklo stock is back in the green and up 1.5%.
But these gains may not last.
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Image source: Getty Images.
SpaceX's AI ambitions
Why not? The answer goes straight back to why Oklo stock (presumably) tanked this morning.
Yesterday evening, Ars Technica confirmed rumors that SpaceX plans to IPO its stock in 2026, in a deal that could value the rocket stock at $1.5 trillion. Now, this wasn't exactly news. Bloomberg had already reported on the IPO plans Tuesday, and The Wall Street Journal highlighted IPO rumors as early as last week.
But Ars added some crucial facts to the story: Elon Musk intends to take the proceeds from a SpaceX IPO and use them "to develop a modified version of the Starlink satellite to serve as a foundation for building data centers in space." Ultimately, SpaceX aims to deploy 100 terawatts-worth of AI data centers in orbit.
Is Oklo stock a sell?
Why is this bad news for Oklo? Precisely because of where Musk wants to put his data centers: in space, where it is cold, where solar power is abundant, and where there is no need to build nuclear reactors to cool and power the data centers!
When you recall that the primary reason Oklo has become popular is that investors assume small modular nuclear reactors will be essential to power data centers on Earth, the prospect of putting data centers in space could undermine the primary investment thesis supporting Oklo stock.
Already unprofitable, Oklo may never become profitable if Musk and SpaceX succeed in moving data centers to space.
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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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