SPCX Stock Jumps Overnight: Trump Hails Musk As ‘Modern-Day Thomas Edison’ Days After POTUS Portfolio Bought SpaceX Bonds

• Trump hailed Musk as a “modern-day Thomas Edison,” praising SpaceX’s rockets, astronaut missions and Starlink’s disaster-response role.
• Trump also credited Musk with turning SpaceX AI into “one of the world’s leaders in superintelligence.”
• The space policy targets over 1,000 annual U.S. launches and reentries by 2030 through faster permitting, environmental reviews and infrastructure development.

Shares of Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SPCX) jumped 3% overnight late Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump hailed CEO Elon Musk as a “modern-day Thomas Edison,” while newly released filings showed his portfolio bought up to $5 million in SpaceX bonds two days before a major space-policy push.

SPCX stock fell 4% to $160.57 on Thursday but remained up 1% for the week, on track for a second straight weekly gain. 

Trump Celebrates SpaceX And Musk

At the White House Science & Tech Innovation Summit, Trump hailed Musk as “one of the greatest technology founders to ever live,” crediting his genius and determination with turning science fiction into reality.

Trump recounted how Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with his life savings and overcame immense odds to develop the first privately built liquid-fueled rocket to reach orbit. “Nobody thought it was possible to do the things he’s doing,” he said.

The president credited SpaceX with ending NASA’s dependence on foreign nations for astronaut transportation and congratulated the company on Crew-12’s safe return from the International Space Station earlier Thursday. He also praised Starship as the largest rocket in history, highlighting its midair catch for rapid reuse: “It’s the first time anyone’s ever seen anything quite like it.”

Turning to Starlink, Trump celebrated the world’s largest communications satellite network and recalled asking Musk for emergency equipment during severe flooding in North Carolina. He said Musk delivered it within hours despite shortages, restoring communications to stranded communities. “Saved hundreds of lives in North Carolina. So I never forgot that experience,” Trump said.

Trump also praised Tesla and Neuralink, saying Musk “turned SpaceX AI into one of the world’s leaders in superintelligence.” Trump closed with a personal tribute: “Elon is our modern-day Thomas Edison. And Elon, I want to congratulate you. You’re my friend and all of that. But you are a very, very special guy. Thank you very much, and congratulations, Elon. Thank you.” 

Trump’s SpaceX Investment Timing In Focus

Financial disclosures released Thursday showed that Trump’s portfolio purchased between $1,000,001 and $5 million in SpaceX senior unsecured bonds on Aug. 18. The bonds pay 5.35% interest and mature in July 2031. Two days later, Trump signed a national security presidential memorandum to enable over 1,000 launches and reentries on American soil annually by 2030. 

The policy directs federal agencies to expedite permitting and environmental reviews, improve launch scheduling, and encourage infrastructure development with private-sector partners. It also calls for identifying additional launch and reentry sites, which could benefit commercial operators such as SpaceX. 

The purchase was part of 517 August transactions disclosed in the filing. Trump’s portfolio also bought up to $25 million in Meta Platforms shares, up to $6 million in Microsoft stock and a smaller amount of Oracle shares. The tech investments came ahead of a White House gathering with Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other AI executives last month, where Trump favored a lighter regulatory approach.

Musk’s ‘Super Crazy’ Vision For SpaceX

Separately, Musk also shared his outlook for SpaceX’s long-term value on Thursday: “This will sound super crazy, but I see a path to SpaceX being worth orders of magnitude more than the current Earth economy.”

The prediction came as SpaceX agreed to acquire Grain Management’s nationwide 800 MHz spectrum portfolio, subject to FCC approval and other conditions. The low-band frequencies would help Starlink Mobile reach phones inside buildings, complementing satellite capacity with terrestrial infrastructure as the company moves toward competing directly for U.S. wireless subscribers. 

The deal also comes ahead of a scheduled lockup expiration on Friday, when up to 328.4 million SpaceX shares become eligible for sale, potentially increasing selling pressure if holders choose to cash out. 

How Do Retail Traders Feel About SPCX?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for SPCX slipped to ‘bullish’ from ‘extremely bullish’ levels a day ago amid ‘high’ message volume.

One user said, “$SPCX shares unlock tomorrow but you can see the dip getting eaten up. That means the demand is higher, especially after today’s drop. This is about to create a FOMO until the end of next week! $190-$200 lottos!”

Another user said, “$SPCX even with the writing clearly on the wall, some folks are seemingly unable to read it. Buy SPCX every, single. Day. Hold. Done”

SPCX stock has declined 0.2% year-to-date.

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