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2001: The Year I Blew It On SpaceX

2001: The Year I Blew It On SpaceX

James Altucher

Posted August 31, 2026

James Altucher

In 2001, I had a chance to get in on the ground floor of SpaceX.

I laughed at it.

I rarely tell this story. It involves me, a phone call, and the worst seven words I ever said out loud. 

But you should hear it. Because I’m about to watch a few million people make the same exact mistake. 

Here’s what happened. 

My friend had just sold his company—a deal I helped put together, to the same buyer that took my first company, Reset. Life was good for him. He had money, options, and time.

He called me up. "You should come out to Silicon Valley. I'm moving there. My old college roommate is starting a company. He wants to build rockets to send people to Mars."

I remember my exact words.

"That’s the stupidest idea I ever heard."

Why would anyone want to go to Mars?

Understand the moment. 

The dot-com crash had just vaporized trillions. Rockets meant NASA and only NASA. Mars meant science fiction. Despite Mars being beyond the point, every smart person I knew would have said the same thing I said.

That was exactly the problem. Every smart person agreed with me.

My friend’s roommate, of course, was Elon Musk.

The sting faded, but the lesson didn't. 

In 2012, while everyone was still skeptical, I published my case for how SpaceX would turn a profit. In 2015, I wrote how it would change the economics of space. And years before a single share traded, I predicted Elon would pull off the biggest IPO the world had ever seen.

I could have been in the building. I wasn’t. But here’s what I learned: When a plan sounds stupid, especially coming from Elon Musk, look closer. 

Electric cars sounded stupid—Tesla is worth $1.5 trillion. Landing a rocket on its tail sounded stupid—SpaceX owns 80% of everything America launches. Beaming internet from space? Stupid. Starlink covers the planet.

And there’s a reason you need to hear this now. 

Earlier this year, Elon quietly filed a document with the FCC. No announcement. No tweet. Nothing. From a guy who sells flamethrowers for fun, silence is a signal.

I've read the filing. What's inside is bigger than Tesla, SpaceX, and X—combined. It solves the single biggest problem in the $25 trillion AI race. And it does it in a place none of his rivals can follow him.

I’ve put all the details together in my free Millionaire Maker Masterclass

But, before you check it out, I'll tell you this. 

The moment you hear what Elon is actually planning, your first reaction will be word for word what mine was in 2001:

"That is the stupidest idea I ever heard."

Good. Now you know exactly what that means.

Tesla minted the Teslanaires. The SpaceX IPO minted thousands more—welders, machinists, cafeteria workers. This wave dwarfs them all. By my math, he’ll make over a million new millionaires. 

So now I've done something I've never done before. I’ve created a blueprint on EXACTLY how to play it. 

I put the entire story—the filing, the plan, the missing piece, the crucial suppliers, and the tickers—into our free Millionaire Maker Masterclass. 

You don't need experience in the markets. And the research speaks for itself.

One warning: this all kicks off September 25th. After that date, I expect the headlines to catch up… and the window with them.

Twenty-five years ago, I hung up the phone. This time, I’m going all-in. 

CHECK OUT THE FREE MASTERCLASS NOW

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