SpaceX Rises 7% as Starship Test 14 Approaches, Tesla Jumps 7%, Rocket Lab Ticks Up

Shares of SpaceX (SPCX) surged 7% to reach $150.84 on Thursday as market participants aggressively positioned ahead of the upcoming Starship test 14 flight. Tesla also gained 7% to trade at $381.69, lifted by strong ties to the SpaceX ecosystem and optimism surrounding autonomous technology. In contrast, broader space industry peers like Rocket Lab and sector benchmarks like the Procure Space ETF remained largely muted, indicating that buying momentum was concentrated strictly in Elon Musk-affiliated assets rather than representing a broad sector rotation. The rally is bolstered by substantial fundamental and capital developments, including SpaceX's Q2 2026 revenue beat of $7.81 billion against $6.82 billion expected and a $47.5 billion backlog. In addition, SpaceX and Tesla are advancing joint capital initiatives, such as the initial $16.8 billion commitment for the Terafab semiconductor venture in Texas and a $100 billion planned investment in Starbase, Louisiana. However, analysts caution that the impending binary launch event carries near-term downside risks if the test flight encounters technical setbacks.