Bloomberg Businessweek Cathie Wood Talks Elon Musk at Milken
May 7, 2026
Cathie Wood, founder and CIO of ARK Invest known for thematic, long-term bets on disruptive tech. She discusses Elon Musk's vertical integration across SpaceX and Tesla. She talks SpaceX IPO expectations, orbital data centers, chip and data storage needs for AI, and crypto policy shaping US stablecoin opportunities.
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Musk Is Building Vertical Integration Across Ventures
- Elon Musk is pursuing deep vertical integration across Tesla, SpaceX, and related ventures as technologies converge.
- Cathie Wood says Musk aims to control supply chains and timelines to move fast and coordinate data centers, chips, and manufacturing end-to-end.
Tesla Could Dominate Robotaxi Cost Structure
- Tesla's vertical integration could yield far lower robotaxi costs versus competitors reliant on other automakers.
- ARK's model projects robotaxi marginal cost falling from $3+/mile to about $0.25/mile, while Waymo could remain ~50% costlier by 2030.
Expect Volatility Around SpaceX IPO Debut
- SpaceX IPO demand is enormous but likely to be volatile at debut due to supply-demand imbalance.
- Cathie Wood notes SpaceX is ARK's largest venture holding and expects initial pop then volatility before longer-term value emerges.