Kathy Wood is rebalancing her portfolio: betting on SpaceX against Tesla on the listing day
ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood made a landmark move: on the day of SpaceX's stock market debut, her fund purchased approximately $444 million worth of SPCX shares while simultaneously reducing its stake in Tesla. Both companies are owned by Elon Musk, but Wood's priorities have shifted in favor of the space sector.
Deal Details: June 12 — Rebalancing Day
The transactions took place on June 12, the day of SpaceX's IPO. Shares rose 19% on the first day, and Elon Musk's net worth exceeded $1 trillion for the first time. ARK acquired 3.29 million shares of SpaceX at the offering price of $135 — by the close of trading, this stake was worth $529.7 million. On the same day, the fund cut its positions in Tesla, as well as in Advanced Micro Devices, Rocket Lab, Roku, and Baidu.
Retail investors were allocated 30% of the offering — three to six times higher than the usual level. SpaceX recorded a cumulative loss of $41.3 billion as of March 31, but this does not deter Wood: she is betting on the future growth of Starlink.
Why Wood Is Reducing Her Stake in Tesla
Tesla shares have long been ARK's main asset, and Wood publicly supported the company even during difficult times. Now things are different: Chinese competitors have nearly caught up with Tesla, its profitability is declining, and Musk's political activity is alienating some buyers. Wood first invested in SpaceX in late 2023, and now this company is the largest position in ARK's venture portfolio (about $1 billion). After the IPO, the fund can increase its investments on the public market.
ARK Performance Context
Since the beginning of the year, the 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 Over the past 12 months, investors have withdrawn approximately $294 million net from it. According to Morningstar estimates, from 2014 to 2024, ARK "destroyed" about $7 billion of its investors' funds.
In the IPO sector, Cathie Wood follows one scenario: enter promising companies as early as possible. That's how ARK bought Coinbase shares shortly after its listing in 2021 and recently bet on CoreWeave. SpaceX has become the largest investment.
My analysis: This move is not just a rebalancing, but a signal of a paradigm shift. Wood is betting on next-generation infrastructure projects rather than consumer demand. Whether SpaceX will turn a profit and provide stable returns or become another costly mistake for ARK — only time will tell. But the current market momentum is clearly on the side of the space giant.