Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX Have Shed $1.19 Trillion in Value Since June. Is This a Buying Opportunity?

Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX Have Shed $1. 19 Trillion in Value Since June. Is This a Buying Opportunity?

Patrick Sanders, The Motley Fool Wed, August 5, 2026 at 4:40 PM GMT+2 4 min read SPCX TSLA NVDA If you're a contrarian investor looking to pick up companies at a bargain price, then this may be a good time to consider Elon Musk and his trillion-dollar enterprises. Both Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) have been struggling in recent weeks, with Tesla falling nearly 20% since June 19 and SpaceX falling by 40%. SpaceX has been the big loser, losing nearly $1 trillion in market cap in the last six weeks, while Tesla has lost $220 billion.

Musk's companies have gone from a collective capitalization of $3. 94 trillion to $2. 75 trillion.

Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again.  In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia.

 For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia.   Continue » Company Market Cap on June 19, 2026 Market Cap on Aug. 3, 2026 Tesla $1.

5 trillion $1. 28 trillion SpaceX $2. 44 trillion $1.

47 trillion Combined $3. 94 trillion $2. 75 trillion Data source: Companiesmarketcap.

com. So, is it time to make a contrarian bet? As with most things in investing, it depends on what your goals are, and how much more you're willing to accept in losses before either of these companies bounces back.

Image source: The Motley Fool. SpaceX and Tesla will be bumpy The challenges for Tesla and SpaceX center on the build-out and acceleration of artificial intelligence . Both companies have extremely ambitious goals, and they have to spend billions and borrow even more just to have a chance of achieving them.

Tesla announced that its capex doubled sequentially in the second quarter, and the company is planning for $25 billion in capex this year while borrowing $30 billion. Tesla stock fell 18% the week after its report, marking the company's worst since 2022. Tesla's AI spending is heavily focused on its Optimus robot line, which Elon Musk hopes to begin selling on the commercial market next year.

But mass production at the company's Fremont, California, factory hasn't yet begun, and it's far from a certainty that Musk's bet on his so-called "robot army" will pay off. Tesla is also working to perfect full self-driving technology for its vehicles, hoping regulators will approve unsupervised full self-driving cars at some point. SpaceX's challenges are even bigger.

The company has identified a total addressable market of $26. 5 trillion in artificial intelligence and hopes to build orbital data centers that would power AI enterprise applications. But doing so means going deeply into debt.

Goldman Sachs , the lead underwriter for SpaceX's IPO, has projected that SpaceX will have a negative free cash flow of $105 billion in 2029 before rebounding to a positive FCF of $72 billion by 2031. Story Continues And remember, IPO stocks are notoriously volatile, particularly as their lockup periods expire. SpaceX has an unusual lockup period.

Rather than waiting 180 days before insiders sell their shares, the company allows investors to sell up to 20% of their stock two days after its first quarterly earnings report. That means as many as 912 million shares of SpaceX stock -- more than double the current available supply -- could potentially hit the market as early as Aug. 6.

Is this a good time to buy Tesla and SpaceX on the dip? If you're a long-term investor who thinks that Tesla and SpaceX can achieve their lofty goals, then it's really never a bad time to accumulate shares. But you should be aware that both companies face challenging quarters ahead.

If you're a Tesla or SpaceX bull, be sure to keep your shares as part of a well-balanced portfolio to reach your goals. We just issued 'double down' alerts on 3 stocks — find out if Tesla made our list Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this.

On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a "Double Down" stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia:  if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009,  you'd have $550,385 !

* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $58,966 ! * Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $396,758 ! * Right now, we're issuing "Double Down" alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join  Stock Advisor , and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.

See the 3 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 3, 2026 Patrick Sanders has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Goldman Sachs Group and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .

Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX Have Shed $1. 19 Trillion in Value Since June. Is This a Buying Opportunity?