Katie Wood reshuffles her portfolio: SpaceX overtakes Tesla on the day of the historic IPO
June 12 became a landmark day not only for SpaceX, but also for Cathie Wood's investment strategy. On the day Elon Musk's space company debuted on the stock market, her ARK fund executed a massive rebalancing, buying approximately $444 million worth of SPCX shares while simultaneously reducing its stake in Tesla. This is a signal: the priorities of the leading "innovation" investor are shifting.
The purchase was made at the offering price of $135 per share. By the close of trading, the package of 3.29 million SpaceX shares was worth $529.7 million — a 19% increase in a single day. For comparison, on the same day, ARK cut positions not only in Tesla, but also in Advanced Micro Devices, Rocket Lab, Roku, and Baidu. The fund is clearly betting on a new narrative.
Why SpaceX, not Tesla?
Tesla has long been the flagship asset of ARK. However, the situation has now changed. Chinese competitors have closed in on the electric vehicle leader, business margins are declining, and Musk's political activity is alienating some consumers. In contrast, SpaceX, and especially its Starlink satellite internet service, is showing explosive growth. This is the company's only profitable segment, and Wood entered it as early as late 2023. Now, after the public listing, the fund can increase its stake on the public market.
It is worth noting that 30% of the offering was allocated to retail investors in the IPO — 3 to 6 times higher than the usual level. This step indicates the organizers' strong confidence in retail interest. However, not everything is rosy: SpaceX's cumulative loss as of March 31 stands at $41.3 billion. This is a risk that Wood seems willing to accept.
ARK's Performance Context
Since the start of the year, the flagship ARK Innovation ETF has risen only 1.61%, while the S&P 500 has gained about 9%. Over the past 12 months, investors have withdrawn approximately $294 million in net funds from the fund. And according to Morningstar estimates, from 2014 to 2024, ARK "destroyed" about $7 billion of its investors' capital. Wood operates on a single playbook: enter promising companies as early as possible. This was the case with Coinbase in 2021, with CoreWeave, and now with SpaceX.
The bet on SpaceX is not just about diversification. It is an attempt to reset the portfolio and find a new growth driver that can compensate for Tesla's stagnation and the ETF's disappointing returns. The question is whether the space company, still unprofitable, will become a lifeline for ARK or yet another costly mistake.
Expert opinion: Wood's decision is extremely timely in terms of entering the asset at the start of public trading. However, SpaceX's fundamental risks — a massive accumulated loss and dependence on Starlink's scaling — make this bet extremely volatile. For long-term ARK investors, this is a high-stakes game where time will tell whether the strategy was brilliant or reckless.