"The Enron Terminator" warned about SpaceX a month ago

Jim Chanos is a legendary short-selling maestro representing Wall Street and the founder of Kynikos Associates. He is known for accurately shorting Enron exactly one year before its scandal broke, earning nicknames like the 'Enron Terminator' and 'Wall Street's Darth Vader.' He continuously issues serious warnings about popular markets, focusing his research on financial fraud and overvaluation.

On June 12, $SpaceX (SPCX.US)$ on its IPO day, Chanos gave an interview to Bloomberg, clearly outlining his short thesis. He pointed out that the launch business has never been profitable in its 22-year history, and none of Starship’s 12 missions have yet reached Earth orbit—about half of them experiencing failures.$SpaceX (SPCX.US)$ dropped sharply by 16.4% in a single day.

📉 Short Thesis:

$SpaceX (SPCX.US)$ IPO Price: $135

Closing Price on June 22: ~$154

Starship: 0 successful Earth orbit insertions out of 12 missions; partial failures occurred in approximately 6 missions

Launch Business: Unprofitable for 22 consecutive years

✅ Bull Case Arguments—Points Acknowledged by Mr. Chanos:

Starlink's revenue continues to grow, and its satellite broadband business boasts a high gross profit margin

$Rocket Lab (RKLB.US)$ — Companies that could potentially benefit from Starship delays

$AST SpaceMobile (ASTS.US)$ — Direct competitors of Starlink

❌ Short-selling risk warning:

Starlink is indeed profitable and growing—Mr. Chanos himself acknowledges this

If Starship successfully launches, market sentiment could completely reverse

$Leverage Shares 2X Short SpaceX Daily ETF (SSPC.US)$ (Short ETFs) suffer from time decay and are unsuitable for long-term holding

Musk-related stocks have long challenged conventional valuation logic

🎯 SpaceX-related ETFs:

$SpaceX (SPCX.US)$ — Holds SpaceX directly (down 16.4% in a single day)

$GraniteShares 2x Short SpaceX Daily ETF (SNK.US)$ — ETF shorting SpaceX (up 32% on June 22)

$Leverage Shares 2X Long SpaceX Daily ETF (SPCH.US)$ — 2x leveraged SpaceX ETF

$Entrepreneur Private-Public Crossover ETF (XOVR.US)$ — Cross-sector ETF (holds 23% SpaceX)

$ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF (ARKX.US)$ — ARK Space Exploration ETF

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