Why Did SpaceX Stock Fall 4% Days Before Starship's Biggest Flight?

What happened

SpaceX stock fell more than 4% on September 23, one day before a lockup expiration freed about 328 million shares for trading, and ahead of Starship Flight 14, its first planned orbital trip and first revenue-generating mission.

Confirmed

Global impact / market context

A lockup expiration is when early owners can finally sell shares, which means more supply can hit the market and push the price down. The coming Starship flight adds uncertainty because failure or delay could hurt revenue hopes.

Analyst inference

This mixes share-supply pressure with a launch milestone. Investors often sell before such known events, so the drop may reflect positioning rather than a change in the company's business, though the small asset list here limits broader read-through.

Analyst inference

What to watch

1. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on September 24 that the company is preparing for a Monday launch, which falls on September 28, and the tower's mechanical arms had stacked Ship 41 on Super Heavy Booster 21. Confirmed
2. Watch whether the Monday launch proceeds as planned, since Starship Flight 14 is described as the rocket's first planned trip into Earth orbit and its first revenue-generating mission, giving the flight unusual financial weight. Proposed
3. Watch how the freed 328 million shares trade in the days after the lockup expiration, because heavy selling by early holders could keep pressure on the stock even if the launch goes well. Analyst inference

Evidence

• beincrypto.com