2026 is a great year for SpaceX. Its Starship rocket reaches Earth orbit for the first time with 26 satellites for Starlink’s new V3 megaconstellation, its integration with xAI skyrockets its economic value, it goes public with great results, Starlink surpasses the 10,000-satellite mark in orbit… even the technology that Tesla can use can be developed by Tesla itself. Elon Musk’s company is going from strength to strength with revenue of $14.6 billion in the third quarter of this year. For this reason, the CEO did not hesitate to show his chest with a statement on his social network X that directly attacks his main competitors.
statement. On Saturday, October 17, 2026, one Elon Musk must have liked this publication, because he shared it, adding a phrase of his own: “It’s true, even the future plans of SpaceX’s competitors are behind Starship.”
competitors. Although it doesn’t name names, it likely refers to Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ company, and competitors to Rocket Lab. And, while it’s true that both companies have been hitting great milestones lately, 2026 hasn’t been as fruitful for them as SpaceX.
Rocket Lab. To stay in the race, Rocket Lab should launch its medium-sized reusable rocket Neutron as soon as possible. However, recently the company itself announced that the launch will be delayed until 2027 due to a manufacturing defect in the carbon fiber piece. As a result, his company’s valuation dropped by billions of dollars.
Blue Origin. For Blue Origin, 2026 could be a big year. However, the explosion of its New Glenn rocket during a static firing test last May derailed all of its plans. The launch pad was destroyed, so Bezos’ company had to rebuild it. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp has said on several occasions that they hope to launch the new Glen before the end of 2026. However, most experts believe that working conditions on the launch pad will make this unlikely, so the launch will need to be postponed until 2027.
Other competitors. With what we’ve seen, it’s clear that SpaceX’s progress has further differentiated it from its American competitors’ brand. However, we must not forget that there are other companies in other parts of the world who want to join this competition. China has been doing very well recently, so the absolute dominance of Elon Musk’s company may not be so obvious. At the moment it is, but we will have to see what happens in a few years. In the end, if the winner is too clear, the race becomes boring for us outsiders.
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