Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest has increased its exposure to SpaceX and Tesla, two companies Wood has identified as the firm’s leading artificial intelligence investments. Wood discussed that positioning during an appearance on Fox Business on July 22, 2026, naming Tesla and SpaceX as her top two AI stock picks.

Ark Invest bought $21.3 million of SpaceX stock across multiple funds after the shares fell about 45% from their record high. The purchase followed a sharp pullback in SpaceX shares after the company’s public-market debut, making the trade a notable test of Ark’s willingness to add to high-conviction positions during early public-market volatility.

SpaceX went public in June 2026. Ark deployed roughly $530 million into the stock on its first day of trading and has since added more than $80 million in additional shares.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. trades under the ticker SPCX. After the IPO, SpaceX shares climbed above $200, but they have since declined below the IPO price of $135. As of July 27, 2026, the stock was trading around $114.87, placing it about 45% below its record high.

Why Wood Frames SpaceX as an AI Investment

Wood’s investment case for SpaceX as an AI company centers on infrastructure rather than conventional software. She has pointed to orbital data centers and the Starlink satellite network as potential foundations for AI computation, tying the company’s space and connectivity assets to demand for compute capacity.

SpaceX says its total addressable market is $28.5 trillion, with more than 90% of that opportunity connected to AI. Morgan Stanley projects that SpaceX revenue could rise from $18.7 billion in 2025 to $319 billion by 2030.

Morgan Stanley has reiterated a $300 price target for SpaceX. The bank was also one of the underwriters for the company’s IPO. SpaceX remains unprofitable, so investors are weighing large long-term market estimates against the company’s current lack of earnings.

Nearly 30 analysts cover the stock. The average price target is $243.81, about 111% above the current price cited in the source. One analyst has set a target of $800, while another rates the stock a sell with a $115 target, reflecting a wide range of views on SpaceX’s valuation after the IPO.

Ark Also Adds to Tesla Position

Tesla has typically represented around 8% to 10% of Ark’s flagship ETF. After Tesla shares fell roughly 15% amid concerns about AI development timelines, Ark bought around 160,000 shares on July 24, 2026, worth approximately $50 million.

Wood’s AI thesis for Tesla is based on robotaxis and the company’s Optimus humanoid robot program. She views Optimus as an AI model that trains on real-world data.

Wood’s broader argument is that physical-world AI, including autonomous vehicles, robotics, and space infrastructure, will create more long-term value than large language model developers or cloud providers. That framing helps explain why Ark is adding to companies whose AI exposure is tied to hardware, networks, and real-world deployment rather than only software models.

Ark’s SpaceX position now represents around 4.5% of the Ark Innovation ETF’s invested assets. The firm has continued buying during the stock’s decline from its peak market capitalization of roughly $1.9 trillion.

SpaceX’s 52-week trading range is $110.85 to $225.64. The stock is currently trading near the lower end of that range.