Rocket Lab Stock Flies To New High As SpaceX CEO Musk Feuds With Trump Over ‘America Party’ Idea

Rocket Lab USA’s (RKLB) stock rose 9% to a fresh peak on Monday amid an escalating public dispute between rival SpaceX’s CEO, Elon Musk, and President Donald Trump.

The company, which offers launch services, is an emerging player in the private space industry, holding several contracts with NASA. The stock saw its best day since June 26, when it hit a record high, as Rocket Lab would likely stand to benefit if the U.S. government scrapped or scaled back its partnership with SpaceX.

The latest spat between Musk and Trump emerged after the former said he would launch a new political party as an alternative to the “Democrat-Republican uniparty” after Congress passed the “Big Beautiful Bill.” Musk has dubbed it a “Debt Slavery” bill, reasoning that it would result in the most significant debt ceiling increase in history.

Trump fired back at Musk in a lengthy Truth Social post late Sunday and said the South Africa-born billionaire has gone completely “off the rails”. He also labelled the billionaire entrepreneur as “essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks.”

Rocket Lab and other space stocks also gained last month when Trump threatened to cancel all SpaceX contracts, with Musk taking the threat seriously before backing down. Retail sentiment about Rocket Lab improved to ‘bullish’ territory on Monday, from ‘bearish’ a day ago.

The company had secured its first-ever launch contract with the European Space Agency last month. Rocket Lab aims to begin operating the Neutron heavy-lift launch vehicles this year, which will help it better compete with SpaceX.

Last week, KeyBanc raised the price target for RKLB to $40 from $29, citing continued tightness in the aerospace and defense market.

“We will reach Venus before SpaceX reaches Mars,” one retail trader quipped.

“Musk is sure killing his chance of getting any more SpaceX and Starlink contracts,” another user said.

Rocket Lab stock has gained 56% this year.

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