DRAM Good Show: Musk Hails Micron's "Non-Extortionate" Pricing as Stock Slides 11.7% in Five Days 🤝

Elon Musk publicly praised Micron on October 13 for keeping future memory chip prices "reasonable" while rivals charged "extortionate" rates, even as Micron stock closed lower for a fourth straight session. The SpaceX chief posted his comments in reply to an X post by analyst Nicholas Mugalli (@RealNickMugalli), who summarized a bullish research note from JPMorgan on the memory chipmaker. Despite the note's strong contract figures, Micron shares closed Tuesday at $953.19, a 3.62% daily decline and an 11.54% loss over five sessions. Micron stock remains up roughly 223% in 2026.

Selling pressure largely reflected news from ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China's leading memory manufacturer, which reported progress on denser DRAM designs and stoked concerns that new supply could ease the current shortage. JPMorgan analysts, however, count 26 long-term customer agreements representing over 35% of Micron's revenue through 2030. The bank places contracted backlog at $150 billion, with $32 billion in committed customer cash, and notes that buyers have already reserved more than 75% of next year's output.

Musk framed Micron's pricing restraint as a long-term loyalty strategy. "Micron has been reasonable regarding future memory prices, while others have been extortionate, which is something today's customers won't forget … Micron is making is the smart move for long-term customer loyalty," he wrote on X. Musk's exposure to Micron memory is indirect, through AI data centers near Memphis that run Nvidia chips built with the company's products; in April, he named Micron among existing suppliers while discussing his Terafab chip project, though no direct deal has been announced.

Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix have redirected capacity toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the stacked chips used in AI accelerators, tightening conventional DRAM supply and lifting prices industry-wide. Samsung recently posted record quarterly profit on those dynamics, with the broader shortage expected by JPMorgan to persist through 2028. Tickers referenced in the analyst's summary include $MU, $SKHY, and $SNDK, with Micron stock currently trading between Wall Street price targets near $1,500 and concerns over a potential Chinese supply wave.