Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Exits Tesla Entirely, Sharply Cuts SpaceX Holdings
nashnova research
Baillie Gifford's Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust has sold all its Tesla shares and sharply reduced its SpaceX holding, closing out two decade-long conviction bets — one of the earliest and most committed institutional bulls is walking away.
Why sell Tesla now after holding it for 13 years?
Scottish Mortgage first bought Tesla in 2013, investing roughly $470 million over the years and realising about $6.2 billion in profit — a return of roughly 13× on invested capital.
The fund's reasoning is blunt: the stock already prices in Tesla's potential in autonomous driving and robotics, while its core car business faces intensifying competition, particularly in China.
This means → the fund believes Tesla's "future story" is fully priced; what remains is a car business that must compete head-to-head with the likes of BYD.
Why trim SpaceX instead of exiting completely?
Scottish Mortgage first invested in SpaceX in late 2018 at a valuation of roughly $31 billion, committing about $200 million through 2021.
By SpaceX's IPO in June, the position had swelled to roughly a quarter of the fund's portfolio. Post-IPO sell-downs have brought it to 11.1% of total assets as of Wednesday, down from 15% at the end of September.
In plain terms = the fund still likes SpaceX, but one stock at a quarter of the portfolio is too concentrated — the trimming is about managing risk and paying down leverage, not a bearish call.
How much did these bets actually make?
In the six months to end-September, the fund delivered a net-asset-value total return of 31.5%, versus 16% for the FTSE All-World Index. SpaceX alone contributed 8 percentage points of that return.
This reflects a single stock powering half the fund's outperformance — the upside of conviction and the flip side of concentration risk in one number.
Why did Tesla and SpaceX shares both plunge at the same time?
Tesla and SpaceX shares fell roughly 11% and 9% respectively on Thursday, wiping more than $420 billion off their combined market capitalisation from Tuesday's close.
Markets fear Elon Musk could face fresh congressional probes after the US midterm elections, putting his companies under tighter regulatory scrutiny.
This means → Scottish Mortgage's exit timing coincides with a concentrated surfacing of political risk across the Musk empire — whether that is coincidence or foresight, the market is still digesting.
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