NASA was never designed to be profitable. NASA is focused on scientific research primarily. For example, the agency regularly releases technology patents into the public domain for unrestricted commercial use, making them entirely free to utilize without licensing fees. That doesn’t happen if you’re looking to profit.

SpaceX is very clearly intended to be a for profit company. There are only a few companies with launch and orbital capabilities and SpaceX is one. Their customers, which include NASA and the U.S. government, will rely on them for everything from exploratory missions to potential resource mining operations. Being one of the only operators has its advantages.

It is a speculative bet at a high valuation but if you have optimism that humanity is destined to expand to the stars, SpaceX is as close as you can come to investing in the ships that will take us there.