SpaceX closed down 2.5% today, but the real aerospace news isn’t about it.

China’s private aerospace company LandSpace successfully completed the land-based vertical recovery of the first stage of its Zhuque-3 Y2 rocket yesterday. This was the first time in the world that an orbital-class rocket was recovered using landing legs, and it was also the first time a Chinese private aerospace company joined the “global recovery club.” Previously, only SpaceX, Blue Origin, and China’s state-owned Long March 10B had been able to do it. Now, the private sector is in too.

Put simply, it took Musk more than a decade to accomplish what Chinese private aerospace companies caught up with in just a few years. This isn’t “catching up”; it’s “getting a seat at the table.” And they used landing-leg recovery, whereas SpaceX uses grid fins plus propulsive landing. LandSpace has taken a new approach this time, with its own technical path.

But SpaceX’s drop today has little to do with LandSpace. The real reason may be over at Tesla—the Cybercab could be rolled out to the public in Austin, Texas, as soon as August. No steering wheel, no brake pedal, just a fully autonomous taxi. JPMorgan gave it a neutral rating with a price target of 445, saying the Robotaxi fleet will accelerate significantly from the end of 2026 to early 2027.

Consider this picture:

On one side, a Chinese private rocket has been successfully recovered, going head-to-head with SpaceX; on the other, Tesla is about to launch a steering-wheel-free taxi, redefining transportation. Both sectors are entering the “real deal” phase at the same time. Previously, it was all PowerPoints and concepts. Now, one real rocket has landed, and one real car is about to hit the road.

But the question is: Would you dare ride in a car without a steering wheel? If something goes wrong with autonomous driving, who bears the responsibility? Tesla’s FSD remains controversial even in the United States, and now it’s removing the steering wheel altogether—is that confidence or madness?

Back to LandSpace. The successful recovery of Zhuque-3 means the launch costs of China’s private aerospace industry are about to plunge. Previously, a single launch could burn through 100 million; with recovery and reuse, costs could be reduced to one-tenth of that. SpaceX’s Starlink has already deployed thousands of satellites. If Chinese private aerospace companies can also bring down costs, the real battle for low-Earth-orbit satellites is only just beginning.