Ben Gilbert: evaluation

Transcript context

…Totally. Okay, I think that's the bear case. Do we want to do what would happen otherwise quickly? Yeah. The big question here, basically, is if you look at the comparable of SpaceX. Why is it that SpaceX has done what they've done while Virgin hasn’t? Let's pull out execution for a moment. A big component of that (I think) is SpaceX’s strategy to go get those government contracts and basically have an enormous amount of capital in the form of revenue from government customers to launch satellites. That has just been (I think) over $10 billion now in non-dilutive revenue funding that the company has gotten, which of course, translates to things like 10X the headcount. You look at Virgin Galactic, still a startup, it's like 700 people. SpaceX is 7000. Let's, for a moment, just say it is by no means an apples-to-apples comparison because of the way that they chase dollars differently. Space industry folks may correct me here because I'm waiting out into somewhat technical territory that I'm unqualified to. I do wonder if SpaceX’s technology strategy, too, of basically laddering up from the Falcon 1 to the Falcon 5 to the Falcon 9, to the Falcon Heavy to the Starship.…

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