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Comment by karpathy | Hacker News Reader

Maybe this is a silly question but why doesn't SpaceX or Tesla use some form of crowd-funding scheme for their projects in addition to all their other sources of funding?

I really want both companies to succeed and I'd be happy to contribute to either cause (yes, I see both primarily as a cause and philosophy, not just a company). Judging from response around the internet there are many people like me who are just as excited. I can't buy a Model S car because I don't have that money, but I'd be happy to throw some money at Tesla or SpaceX for a little badge and a warm feeling.

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Kickstarter actually demonstrates why this is not the sure-win that it appears to be on the surface. Crowdfunding is a great idea, but it's also very risky from a PR perspective. People--not you, perhaps, but most people--feel that giving money merits an equal-value return. At a step above the pure "I believe in you; take my money", you have the step where people at least want constant, accurate updates all the time. That's a cost that may outweigh the benefit of an extra revenue stream. And above that, people keep wanting more and well... that's a problem.

Solvable? Probably. But we haven't solved it yet.

Have you considered buying stock?

Participating in the secondary market (Stock market) doesn't give the company any money, you just have a stake of the company that varies in price according to the demands of others and the perceived value of the company. As far as I know there aren't any firm plans for a SpaceX IPO

Buying stock drives the price up of said stock, allowing the company to reap more money per share when it wants to sell more shares on said secondary market, and also allows it to get better deals on loans and future funding rounds. It might not directly give money to the company, but it's definitely an action anyone can take to "vote with your money" that actually benefits a company.

SpaceX remains private. Purchasing stock will be limited to accredited investors, and limited in quantity to 500(?) before the company must become publicly reporting, which carries its own compliment of pain - the new bill will raise that to 1000 I believe - still a minuscule number for a multi-billion dollar effort.

The recent launch success makes the likelihood of it going public soon a little higher, and then everyone will be able to participate - but I can only imagine all the caveats in the filing documents, and frankly after watching the debacle of a meltdown called Facebook, I wouldn't trust anyone on Wall Street to properly bring this to market unless a Dutch Auction was used.

Of course, but I wasn't talking about SpaceX specifically, just refuting the point put forward by robbiep.

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