Ron Baron, who made billions investing in Tesla, thinks SpaceX ‘has a chance to be just as large’

Billionaire investor Ron Baron, who says his stake in Tesla has made his firm 10 times its original investment, told CNBC on Wednesday that he expects similar growth from Elon Musk’s space company.

“SpaceX I think has a chance to be just as large as Tesla,” Baron said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Baron’s investment firm holds significant stakes in both companies, with over 1.6 million shares of Tesla and more than 800,000 shares of SpaceX. With Tesla’s stock up more than 433% this year, Baron’s stake is worth about $3.5 billion as of Tuesday’s close – with the company’s market valuation at about $417 billion. Earlier this year Baron said he believes Tesla has the potential to hit “at least” $1 trillion in revenue by 2030.

While Baron Capital first purchased shares of SpaceX in 2017, the firm has continued to expand its position in the rocket builder as recently as the third quarter of this year. The Baron Asset fund disclosed that it purchased $26 million worth of SpaceX stock during the company’s recent $2.1 billion fundraise, which Baron said raised SpaceX’s valuation to about $44 billion.

SpaceX has had a year full of milestones, with progress made by its Crew Dragon astronaut capsule, its Starlink satellite internet service, and its next-generation Starship rocket.

“What I want to be known as, ultimately, is not just the Tesla guy, but also the SpaceX guy,” Baron told CNBC. “In the next couple years I’m going to be talking to you a lot more about SpaceX than I’m going to be able to do right now.”

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