Aug 1 (Reuters) - SpaceX's first earnings call as a

public company may be expected to focus on AI spending and

profits from its Starlink satellite communications network, but

many retail investors have other things on their minds.

Taking a page from Elon Musk's other big company, Tesla, newly

public rocket maker SpaceX has opened an online venue for

investors to ask questions ahead of a call about results that is

expected to feature Musk. Users can submit questions and vote on

which ones will be answered, creating a list ranked by

popularity.

Among the most popular shareholder questions submitted ahead

of Tuesday's call were requests for more footage of Starship's

Human Landing System, the vehicle designed to carry astronauts

to the moon for NASA's Artemis program next year.

Investors also asked whether Asteroid, SpaceX's recently

unveiled Shiba Inu mascot, celebrated with a $35 plush toy,

could take on a larger role in education, children's charities

and outreach.

Other shareholders wanted to know when the new Starship

would begin refueling in orbit, when it would catch both its

booster and upper stage, and how to improve the rocket's look.

"Can we paint the rocket pink?" a user asked.

Another suggested selling sponsorships for individual heat

shield tiles so fans could have their names flown into space.

The eclectic mix of questions comes after SpaceX set aside

roughly 30% of its IPO shares for retail investors, one of the

largest individual investor allocations in a major U.S. listing.

SpaceX's shares lost more than half their value from their

post-IPO intraday peak. Still, questions about its business

outlook and finances were relatively unpopular, and those that

did get some support focused on issues such as timing of

sending orbital AI data centers into space rather than finances.

When the company's AI business could begin paying for itself

was question number 183 as of late on Friday afternoon.

Tesla posted its own results Wednesday last week and

investors then repeatedly pressed Musk about a potential merger

with SpaceX, including several questions that attracted more

than 100 votes.

But the same topic barely registered on SpaceX's forum, where it

appeared just once with a single upvote on Friday morning, the

morning after the Wall Street Journal reported that executives

at Tesla have been told to prepare for a separation of its China

business ahead of a potential merger. Musk denied the report.

Most retail investors were optimistic about SpaceX's future,

but one user questioned whether Musk's own long-term vision made

investing worthwhile. Musk has said advances in AI and robotics

could eventually create a world of abundance where goods and

services become so inexpensive that money may lose much of its

importance.

"If money won't matter in 10 years like Elon recently

stated... then why should people buy more shares and invest more

money?" the investor asked. The question received no upvotes

with four days left till the company publishes its first

quarterly results.