Their rockets (Falcon 9) are literally the most reliable in history of spaceflight, and are still the only company that reuses rockets instead of building a new one for every flight - obviously a much cheaper approach, so they make boatloads of money. They made over 9 billion in 2023, likely more in 2024.
They do spend a lot on R&D, with all their test vehicle explosions as you noted, but this doesn’t affect actual operations where profits are made.
Plus in addition to being a launch provider, they are now also bringing in ~4 billion a year through their ISP business (Starlink).
That being said, it doesn’t explain Musk’s wealth at all, it’s still orders of magnitude away, so I’m as puzzled as you are.
Their rockets (Falcon 9) are literally the most reliable in history of spaceflight, and are still the only company that reuses rockets instead of building a new one for every flight - obviously a much cheaper approach, so they make boatloads of money. They made over 9 billion in 2023, likely more in 2024.
They do spend a lot on R&D, with all their test vehicle explosions as you noted, but this doesn’t affect actual operations where profits are made.
Plus in addition to being a launch provider, they are now also bringing in ~4 billion a year through their ISP business (Starlink).
That being said, it doesn’t explain Musk’s wealth at all, it’s still orders of magnitude away, so I’m as puzzled as you are.