SpaceX is preparing for its first earnings call as a public company, with the call expected to take place on Tuesday, August 4. Investors would normally be expected to focus on SpaceX’s financial results, profits and spending, especially its fast-growing AI plans and its Starlink satellite internet business. But retail investors have shown that they have many other questions, ranging from the future of its Starship rocket to a Shiba Inu mascot and even whether SpaceX should paint its rocket pink.
SpaceX copied Tesla’s investor question system
Before the earnings call, SpaceX created an online forum where investors can submit questions. Investors can also vote on questions submitted by other users. The most popular questions rise to the top, giving SpaceX a list of topics that investors most want Musk and the company to address, according to Reuters.
The system is similar to the one used by Musk’s other major company, Tesla, which has also allowed investors to submit and vote on questions ahead of earnings calls. This has given retail investors a direct way to show what they want to hear about from SpaceX.
Investors want more Starship footage
One of the biggest areas of interest is Starship, SpaceX’s giant rocket system. Several investors asked SpaceX to release more footage of the Starship Human Landing System. The Human Landing System is being designed to carry astronauts to the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis programme.
Business Times reported that the system is planned to support NASA’s Artemis programme in 2027. This shows that investors are interested not only in SpaceX’s financial performance but also in how quickly the company can reach major space milestones.
Investors are also interested in Asteroid, the Shiba Inu
SpaceX recently introduced a Shiba Inu mascot named Asteroid. The mascot has already become part of SpaceX’s public image and is being sold as a US$35 plush toy, according to Business Times.
Some investors want to know whether Asteroid could have a bigger role outside SpaceX’s branding. One area investors mentioned was using the mascot for education, children’s charities and public outreach. The question shows how some retail investors are looking at SpaceX not just as a rocket company, but also as a brand with a large public following.
Also read: How SK Hynix went from struggling chipmaker to $1 trillion AI giant and why it is coming to Nasdaq
Investors want to know what happens next with Starship
Other questions focused directly on how SpaceX plans to improve Starship. Investors asked when the new Starship would begin refueling in orbit. They also wanted to know when SpaceX would be able to catch both the rocket’s booster and upper stage.
These questions are important because SpaceX has been working toward making Starship a reusable space vehicle. Investors are therefore watching how quickly SpaceX can turn Starship from a development project into a more regular and reliable space system.
Paint the rocket pink
Not every question was about technology or business. One investor asked SpaceX a much simpler and more unusual question: “Can we paint the rocket pink?” The question became one of the examples showing just how unusual the investor forum has become. Instead of asking only about revenue, profits or AI spending, some retail investors are interested in how the rocket looks and how fans can connect with the company.
Another investor suggested a different idea, SpaceX could sell sponsorships for individual heat shield tiles. Under the idea, fans could potentially pay to have their names associated with individual tiles on the spacecraft, according to Reuters. The investor suggested that this could allow people to have their names flown into space. The suggestion highlights the strong fan interest around SpaceX and its missions.
SpaceX shares have already fallen sharply
Even after that decline, however, financial questions have not been among the most popular topics on the investor forum. Instead, investors have shown greater interest in the company’s long-term plans and technology.
Several of those questions received more than 100 votes, Reuters reported. But the same subject has barely appeared on SpaceX’s investor forum. The potential Tesla-SpaceX merger was mentioned only once, with just one upvote on Friday morning. Despite the attention around the possible merger, SpaceX investors did not appear particularly interested in making it one of the main topics of the company’s first earnings call.
Most retail investors remain optimistic
Overall, most retail investors asking questions appear to be positive about SpaceX’s future. Their questions largely focus on what SpaceX could achieve in the coming years rather than simply asking whether the stock is making money today. The interest in Starship, Moon missions, orbital AI data centres and reusable rockets suggests that many investors are thinking about SpaceX as a long-term technology and space company.
In that future, goods and services could become so cheap that money may lose much of its importance, according to Musk’s vision. One investor used that idea to question why people should continue buying SpaceX shares. The investor asked, “If money won’t matter in 10 years like Elon recently stated… then why should people buy more shares and invest more money?“
What the investor questions reveal
SpaceX’s first earnings call is expected to deal with serious topics such as AI spending, Starlink profits, space infrastructure and the company’s financial outlook. But the questions submitted by retail investors show that many are looking far beyond the balance sheet. They want to know when Starship will refuel in space, when it will catch its booster and upper stage, and when it will carry astronauts toward the Moon, according to Reuters.
Others are thinking about Asteroid the Shiba Inu, children’s education, charity work, rocket sponsorships and even a pink rocket. The wide range of questions shows the unusual relationship between SpaceX and its retail investors: many are investing not just in the company’s current earnings, but in Musk’s long-term vision of space, AI and robotics.