As investors debate whether SpaceX‘s blockbuster IPO is priced for perfection, Nancy Tengler says they’re asking the wrong question. The CEO and CIO of Laffer Tengler Investments argues that SpaceX isn’t the kind of company investors buy for near-term earnings projections or traditional valuation metrics.

Instead, she says, it’s a bet on Elon Musk‘s ability to repeatedly turn seemingly impossible visions into reality.

Musk’s Track Record

“If you’ve read Walter Isaacson’s biography on Elon, what you learn is that this is a guy who describes himself as ‘programmed for war,'” said Tengler.

For Musk supporters, that reputation has been forged through a series of near-disasters. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) came dangerously close to bankruptcy. SpaceX burned through cash and suffered multiple failed launches before becoming the dominant force in commercial spaceflight. Yet both companies survived and ultimately thrived.

“He frequently teeters on the edge of disaster and then pulls back just in time,” Tengler ...