"Big Short" Michael Burry wanted to short SpaceX but said "No, thank you"! He stated that a $2.8 trillion market cap is just a small space company.

"The Big Short" main character, well-known short seller Michael Burry, posted on Substack on June 16, confessing that he was once tempted to short SpaceX (stock ticker SPCX), but ultimately decided to hold back. He found puts too expensive. He straightforwardly states that he is currently "neither short nor long" on SpaceX, and sarcastically remarks that this company, with a market cap approaching $3 trillion, is essentially "a small space company."
(Background summary: SpaceX continues to rise past $210! Market cap surpasses $2.8 trillion, overtaking Amazon to become the fifth largest globally)
(Additional context: Burry, who accurately shorted subprime mortgages before the financial crisis—later depicted in the movie "The Big Short"—now turns his focus to the hottest stock in the market, SpaceX.)

According to CNBC, renowned short seller Michael Burry posted on Substack, revealing that he once wanted to short the newly listed SpaceX, which has surged to nearly $3 trillion in market value, but after analyzing options prices, he decided to pass with a simple "no thank you."

Put options are too expensive

Since SpaceX went public, its options chain has been extremely active. Burry listed several put options prices: when the stock was around $212, a put with a strike price of $100, expiring December 2028, was priced at about $25; the June 2027 expiration was about $13; the December 2026 expiration was roughly $6.75.

In plain language, a put with a strike of $100 when the stock is at $212 means betting that SpaceX will have to halve again and fall below $100 to profit, and only if this happens before expiration. Burry said he was "tempted by the cheapest (December 2026) option," but still shook his head and gave up. He also clarified that he currently holds "neither short nor long" positions in SpaceX, denying rumors that he has already shorted the stock.

He says it's just "a small space company"

What really makes Burry think the valuation is unreasonable is the company's valuation. He points out that SpaceX's market cap is about $2.8 trillion, yet its annual revenue is less than $20 billion.

(SpaceX) is essentially a small space company, a niche telecom, a battered social media company, plus a "lightweight version of CoreWeave."

Breaking down this description, it refers to SpaceX's rocket launches, Starlink satellite communications, Elon Musk's social platform X, and the public's imagination about its ventures into AI computing power.

He’s waiting for volatility to subside

However, Burry doesn't say this definitively. He writes, "Hopefully SPCX stabilizes around the mid-$200s, allowing the implied volatility in the options chain to come down." In plain terms, he's waiting for market enthusiasm to cool off, causing implied volatility to drop, making puts cheaper, and then he might actually take action. He’s looking at the target price but waiting for the right moment—this patience is very much in his style.

This scenario is familiar to those who know him. In recent months, Burry warned that the Nasdaq 100's P/E ratio soared to 43, like "a few minutes before a car crash," and he’s betting on semiconductor declines and accusing tech giants of "collective fraud."

But his hedge fund, Scion Asset Management, closed at the end of 2025. The public will have to wait for his 13F filings to see how these short positions ultimately played out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Michael Burry short SpaceX?

No. On June 16, Burry explicitly stated that he is "neither short nor long" on SpaceX. Although he was tempted by cheap puts, he decided to hold back because options are too expensive, and he denies the rumors on Discord that he has already shorted the stock.

Why does Michael Burry dislike SpaceX’s valuation?

He points out that SpaceX's market cap is about $2.8 trillion, with annual revenue under $20 billion. He describes it as "a small space company, a niche telecom, a battered social media company, plus a lightweight CoreWeave," and believes the fundamentals do not justify a nearly $3 trillion valuation.