SpaceX Stock Has Plunged 34%. Elon Musk's "Secret Master Plan" Points to What Could Come Next.

Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) executed a flawless IPO . At least that's the way things began. The company's underwriters rapidly sold all available stock, triggering "greenshoe" options that ultimately netted SpaceX $85.7 billion in proceeds. Shares quickly skyrocketed well above $200 despite an initial IPO price of $135. And SpaceX took advantage of the enthusiasm by executing a scaled-up $25 billion bond offering .

Since shares reached an all-time high of $225.64 on June 15, with a peak valuation of around $3 trillion, SpaceX stock has fallen off a cliff. Shares are currently 34% lower than that peak, leaving many investors underwater.

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Still, SpaceX is now armed with capital, especially considering its $60 billion acquisition of AI tooling start-up Cursor was paid for in stock, not cash. Regardless of where the stock price goes from here, expect SpaceX to go on a spending spree.

How might SpaceX deploy its new cash hoard? We can glean clues from Elon Musk's "secret master plan" that he executed with Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) many years ago.

On Aug. 2, 2006, Musk published a simple post on Tesla's website with no graphics. The title of the post was "The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (just between you and me)." In this document, Musk outlined his plan to turn Tesla into a global giant. Over the next two decades, things went surprisingly according to plan, even if Tesla's growth journey took longer than Musk initially anticipated.

"As you know, the initial product of Tesla Motors is a high-performance electric sports car called the Tesla Roadster. However, some readers may not be aware of the fact that our long-term plan is to build a wide range of models, including affordably priced family cars," Musk began.

At the end of the post, Musk summarized the key elements of his growth vision. First, Tesla would build a sports car. Next, it would use the funds, reputation, and infrastructure gained from that effort to build an affordable car. With even greater funds and scale, Tesla would then build an even more affordable car. While doing all of this, Tesla would also pursue zero-emission electric power generation options. "Don't tell anyone," Musk cheekily signed off.