SpaceX Prepares for a Breakout Year With Elon Musk Focused on Twitter
One of the world’s most valuable private companies is getting along just fine with its CEO playing a less-active role.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifting off at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, last month.
Photographer: John Raoux/APOne is hitting its numbers; the other keeps missing expectations. One is raising money at an ever-rising valuation; the other has been pummeled by the market. One has a highly capable No. 2 executive keeping it on track; the other is under fire about succession planning.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and Tesla Inc. both count Elon Musk as chief executive officer. But whereas Tesla has withered since the boss embarked on his takeover of Twitter Inc., SpaceX is flourishing — some even suggest that this is because of, rather than in spite of, its CEO playing a less-active role.