There are indications that Donald Trump, the incoming president, is gearing up to grace the premiere of the Starship, an innovative project championed by Elon Musk. This revelation came in the wake of imposed temporary flight restrictions over the designated launch zone in Texas, timed perfectly to coincide with Starship’s lifting off. For this occasion, the current flight restrictions over Trump’s prominent Mar-a-Lago establishment in Palm Beach, Florida are set for a concurrent temporary suspension.
This anticipated move is being seen as a testament to Trump’s burgeoning bond with Elon Musk, who reportedly invested a staggering $200 million to bolster Trump’s bid for presidency in crucial swing states via a supportive campaign group. Post-Trump’s notable victory in the elections, Musk, the charismatic pioneer of Tesla, has been frequently seen accompanying the forthcoming president. He even resided at Trump’s Florida retreat and journeyed with him for key meetings with Republican leaders in Washington, DC and attended a prominent UFC fight in New York.
Musk’s enterprise is preparing for its sixth test of the avant-garde Starship, proudly touted as the largest rocket ever created, scheduled to ascend at 5pm Eastern Time. These unfolding events align with an earlier speculation that SpaceX, Musk’s pioneering space exploration company, was contemplating on selling insider shares projected to be worth $135 apiece. This move could potentially skyrocket the company’s valuation beyond an impressive $250 billion mark.
Just five months prior, SpaceX was valued approximately at $210 billion; if the news of this sale is veritable, it could signify a surging business growth of $40 billion. Musk’s ambitious spacial dreams, especially his audacious plan to send humans to Mars, could possibly inspire Trump to relax regulations impeding private space explorations. Musk, declared as the wealthiest person globally, saw his net worth catapult to an astounding $320 billion, riding the wave of Trump’s electoral success.
Tesla’s stock performance was profoundly eventful following Trump’s successful presidential run. The four-day period post the election day observed the shares of the electric vehicle manufacturing company swell by 39 percent. Substantially, Musk’s fortunes are heavily tied to these Tesla’s shares, and the surge in stock prices added an approximate $70 billion to his overall wealth.
While these advancements paint a promising picture, SpaceX’s initiatives have not been free of debates. Earlier reports from June raised concerns over the unprecedentedly intense sonic booms produced by the Starship launches. These booms, due to their immense power, raised concerns over potential property damage near their southern Texas-based launch site.
An independent engineer drew attention to the severity of the issue by claiming that the experience for the residents of South Padre Island and Port Isabel, located about six miles away from the launch pad, was essentially equivalent to the intense noise of a Boeing 747 jet taking off barely 200 feet away.
Moreover, several wildlife advocates have pointed fingers at SpaceX, accusing the company of inflicting harm on fragile ecosystems with its test flights of Starship, which stands as tall as a 30-story building. The immense scale of these projects has therefore led to rising concerns from various corners.