SpaceX‘s blockbuster public debut has sparked a familiar debate on Wall Street: Is the valuation already too high? Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) and managing partner at venture firm 8VC, thinks investors may be asking the wrong question.
Appearing on CNBC’s Squawk Box ahead of the company’s Nasdaq debut, Lonsdale argued that concerns about SpaceX’s valuation overlook the scale of the opportunity he sees ahead.
“I still think we’re very early in what this company is going to be worth,” Lonsdale said. “Whether or not it’s expensive now, it’s going to look really cheap in 5 or 10 years.”
Betting On The AI Buildout
Lonsdale’s thesis goes well beyond rockets and satellite launches. He described SpaceX as “a critical company in the middle of the biggest industrial revolution we’ve ever had” and argued that investors should increasingly view the company through the lens of artificial intelligence infrastructure.
“I think SpaceX is set up to be key AI infrastructure,” he said. According to Lonsdale, trillions of dollars are being directed toward AI-related infrastructure over the coming years.
“There are literally like $5 trillion over the next five years” being invested in AI infrastructure, he said. That spending wave, in his view, plays directly into Elon Musk‘s strengths. “He’s the kind of guy who’s the best at hardware in the world at a time when trillions of dollars are going into this area,” Lonsdale said.
Why He’s Not Betting Against Musk
The comments came in response to skepticism from some investors who question whether SpaceX can justify its valuation and whether Musk’s AI ambitions can compete with rivals such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
Lonsdale made it clear where he stands. “It’s crazy to think he’s not going to win,” he said, referring to Musk’s positioning within the broader AI ecosystem.
He also pointed to Musk’s track record of setting ambitious targets and delivering on them. “He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t miss his goals,” Lonsdale said.
A Long-Term View
Lonsdale stopped short of predicting what SpaceX shares will do in their first days or weeks of trading.
“I’m not a short-term trader. I can’t tell you what happens in the near term,” he said.
But his broader message was unmistakable: investors focused on near-term valuation metrics may be missing what he sees as a generational infrastructure story.
As Wall Street debates whether SpaceX is overpriced today, Lonsdale is focused on a different question entirely — what the company could look like after years of AI-driven investment, expanding space infrastructure and continued execution from Musk.
For investors willing to think in decades instead of quarters, he believes today’s valuation debate may eventually look trivial.
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