SpaceX stock falls after China rocket milestone, share unlock ahead

SpaceX stock fell after China’s LandSpace successfully landed the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket, marking the first time a Chinese company has recovered an orbital-class booster on land. The milestone narrows SpaceX’s competitive lead in reusable rocketry, though SpaceX still has a dominant record with more than 600 booster landings since 2015 versus LandSpace’s single success. Shares were also pressured by a new lockup tranche, with about 319 million early employee and investor shares becoming eligible to trade, adding to supply concerns after an earlier large unlock was absorbed well by the market. The stock closed down 2.6%, reflecting a mix of competitive and structural headwinds, even as bulls point to SpaceX’s superior launch cadence, cost efficiency, and Starlink revenue.