Hype and reality seldom mix. Elon Musk is the exception that proves the rule. The Space X IPO is set to make him the first trillionaire – but what if Competition is already eating his lunch in space-based datacentres before he’s even looked at the menu? In the Tortoise vs the Hare space race – will Jeff Bezos emerge the winner?

This year is shaping up to be a big one for IPOs, but just how sustainable will the market be if the speculative froth driving valuations dissipates? SpaceX will be the big one – it is a truly extraordinary firm, but after the noise, what’s it really worth?

Elon Musk is an extraordinary character. His successes are multiple. Now he has taken up battle against US Debt – putting him into new direct conflict with the establishment. While markets continue to support him there are concerns he is too thinly spread. That is not the problem – the risk is Tesla is overpriced, vulnerable and if it tumbles… what might follow? History shows when overblown confidence snaps… there is seldom a swift recovery.

This has been a massive week for the expanding Space Economy. New launches from Blue Origin (6/10) and Space X (3/10), plus the UK set to fire up a rocket from Shetland! It’s a serious and difficult sector – and it’s going to become increasing competitive. Everyone is betting on Space X, bit is it froth over content?

Rumours Starlink could be 2024’s big IPO are in circulation, but hype and the Musk effect have inflated the value of Space commercialisation and the financial actuality. What are they really worth?

The SpaceX Starship will be a wonderous thing, and Tesla is a great car company, but does Elon Musk have the time to keep them on track while trying to figure out what to do with his Twitter unwanted stepchild? He’ll come up with something nifty, like X Corp, to fuddle it through..

The failure of Virgin Orbit to achieve the first successful satellite launch from the UK is disappointing. It puts the opportunities for space business under the spotlight. There is money to be made, but how, and by whom?

It is right to let a small number of very wealthy entrepreneurs fill Earth’s already crowded orbital space to establish non-terrestrial internet monopolies? What are the risks, and are the costs justified? Should orbital space be a public good?