Why Are Honda and Toyota Trying to Compete With SpaceX?
There are better ways to profit from "connected vehicles" than trying to do everything at once.
It's only March, and we already we have a blue-ribbon winner for the most unexpected business news of 2025. According to CNBC, carmakers including Honda Motor Co. (NYSE: HMC), Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM), and China's Geely Holding (owner of the Volvo Cars and Polestar brands) are all now investing in...rockets. Wild though it sounds, these three automotive companies have collectively sunk more than $300 million into the twin space businesses of rocket design and satellite manufacturing.
As the saying goes: "I did not have that on my bingo card."
Since 2019, Honda has been developing what CNBC calls a "proprietary reusable rocket." Toyota made a $44 million investment in Japanese rocket start-up Interstellar Technologies earlier this year. Geely, meanwhile, is investing $326 million in satellite manufacture.
