[syntaxing]

Not diminishing the technology advancement that SpaceX has been pushing but are these prices profitable? Or is it similar to the Tesla strategy which is to keep margin minimal (even negative) at the benefit of breaking into the market?

[xcskier56]

In the early days, margin was probably low to negative. However, now, according to wikipedia, the price for a reused falcon 9 launch is $50 million. In reusable configuration this will launch 34,400 lbs to LEO. At this pricing it is around $1450/lb to LEO.

This is speculation to a degree, but I think Elon has tweeted that the internal SpaceX cost for such a mission is around $15m. So yes, even at $1450/lb to LEO, SpaceX is making a significant margin. See this article for more info: https://www.elonx.net/how-much-does-it-cost-to-launch-a-reus...

Remeber that SpaceX still has to recoup the investment in developing the Falcon9 as well as reusability. In the linked article above, they mention that Elon said developing reusability cost about $1 billion. So lots of this margin goes to paying that invest back.

[wedn3sday]

I dont have the link to the price analysis, but I believe the re-usable falcon9 becomes profitable after the 2nd or 3rd launch. The disposable falcon is profitable on the first launch.