Scottish Mortgage trims SpaceX stake and exits Tesla

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust reduced its exposure to SpaceX and confirmed the sale of its last Tesla shares. The London-listed fund announced on Friday that SpaceX now accounts for 11.1% of its total assets. That figure is down from 15% as of Sept. 30. The fund stated it sold its remaining Tesla position in April, closing an investment that began in 2013.

Scottish Mortgage first bought into SpaceX in December 2018. At that time, the rocket company had a reported valuation of about $31 billion. The fund committed roughly $200 million through 2021. The value of that stake grew as SpaceX expanded its launch services and Starlink network. By the time SpaceX went public in June, the investment represented about a quarter of the fund's portfolio by value.

The trust has been selling shares as post-IPO lock-up restrictions have lifted. It said it retained a substantial position because its conviction in SpaceX remains high. The firm noted that the decision to reduce the position demonstrates a balance between conviction and disciplined portfolio management. SpaceX added 8 percentage points to the fund's returns during the recent period.

The fund's net asset value delivered a total return of 31.5% in the six months through Sept. 30. The FTSE All-World Index returned 16% over the same stretch. Scottish Mortgage's share price returned 33.8%. Proceeds from selling SpaceX shares helped the trust repay borrowings and reduce its gearing.

The Tesla exit marks the end of a long-term bet. The fund said it had invested around $470 million in Tesla. Over 13 years, that position generated approximately $6.2 billion in realized profit. Scottish Mortgage said the stock returned 13 times the capital invested. The fund felt the share price had come to reflect much of the company's promise in autonomy and robotics. It also pointed to intensifying competition in the automotive sector, particularly in China.

Shares in SpaceX and Tesla fell about 9% and 11%, respectively, on Thursday. That drop took their combined market value more than $420 billion below the previous day's close. Investors expressed fear that Elon Musk could face new congressional probes after the U.S. midterms. Such probes could expose his companies to tighter regulation. Scottish Mortgage is one of several U.K. investment trusts that backed SpaceX early on.

Another Baillie Gifford fund, Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust, faced a campaign from Saba Capital in 2025. The activist investor targeted the fund's SpaceX holding. That position became a key point of contention in the dispute.