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SpaceX Has Lost $1.4 Trillion in Market Value. A Defense Department Deal Would Help.
By Al Root
Updated July 20, 2026, 4:51 pm EDT / Original July 20, 2026, 5:00 am EDT
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SpaceX stock fell 3.3% on Monday to a new record closing low of $119.85, marking its seventh consecutive day of losses.
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SpaceX stock has dropped about 47% from its all-time intraday high, shedding almost $1.4 trillion in market value.
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SpaceX rescheduled its 13th Starship test launch for July 23.
SpaceX stock extended its losing streak Monday to hit a fresh closing low, dashing hopes that some of its on-the-ground assets could stem the stock’s recent slump.
The stock is now down about 47% from its all-time intraday high of almost $226 a share, shedding almost $1.4 trillion in the company’s market value. SpaceX now sits in eighth place in terms of market value, behind Meta Platforms for the first time, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
A potential data-center deal wasn’t enough to shift investor sentiment on Elon Musk’s rocket and artificial-intelligence company on Monday as the stock notched its seventh straight day of losses.
The Wall Street Journal had reportedExternal link Friday that SpaceX was in talks with the Defense Department about AI computing capacity, similar to deals SpaceX has signed with Anthropic and Google, which will generate some $26 billion in annual revenue when ramped up.
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SpaceX didn’t respond to a request for comment about the computing deal. The company does a lot of business for the U.S. military, launching satellites and building communications and missile defense networks.
The company has the Colossus I and II data centers in Memphis, Tennessee, acquired in the February merger with xAI.
Shares traded as high as $127.70 on Monday, but ultimately fell 3.3% on the day to $119.85, a new record closing low, according to Dow Jones Market Data. In comparison, the S&P 500External link lost 0.2% on Monday.
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Eventually, SpaceX plans to put AI data centers in orbit, believing they will be lower-cost and utilize free power from the sun. Achieving low costs depends on Starship, SpaceX’s huge fully reusable rocket that can cut the cost to reach orbit to hundreds of dollars per kilogram, from thousands.
SpaceX scrubbed the 13th Starship test on Thursday after some engines failed to light. The test has been rescheduled for Thursday, July 23, at about 6:45 p.m. Eastern time. Investors are hoping for a good result, considering the stock’s recent slump.
The launch can be watched hereExternal link and on XExternal link.
In test number 13, “the booster’s primary test objective will be executing a successful launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn, and landing burn at an offshore landing point in the Gulf of America,” says SpaceX.
Starship’s upper stage will try to deploy 20 Starlink V3—or version three—satellites. The upper stage will also attempt an in-space relight (reignition) of a single Raptor rocket engine before a controlled re-entry and splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.comExternal link
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Corrections & Amplifications: Starship’s next flight test is slated for July 23. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the test was scheduled for June 23.
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