Imagine you've spent decades building one of the largest businesses in America.

You've invested hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure, accumulated millions of customers, and established yourself as one of the dominant players in your industry.

Then one day, Elon Musk announces he's coming after your business.

Investors panic.

Your stock – and the stock prices of your competitors – plunge 10% in a day.

This is what happened to America's largest wireless carriers last week.

On Thursday, SpaceX announced an agreement to acquire more wireless spectrum, another major step toward becoming a full-fledged mobile wireless provider.

Friday’s market reaction was brutal.

• Verizon plunged nearly 9%.

• AT&T fell almost 10%.

• T-Mobile dropped more than 13%.

But here's my question.

Are these companies supposed to just roll over and die?

Or do you think it’s more likely that if SpaceX is threatening their business with high-quality wireless service from space… these companies also begin offering high-quality wireless service from space?

No business degree needed here.

It’s probably the latter.

And there’s one company that suddenly just became a lot more important because of it.

Investors Are Getting AST SpaceMobile Wrong

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) also plunged 10.5% on the SpaceX news.

That’s because SpaceX is ASTS’s biggest competitor.

And because SpaceX just took another major step toward becoming a global wireless provider, investors sold ASTS without thinking twice.

But investors are missing the bigger picture.

AST SpaceMobile is actually one of the biggest beneficiaries of SpaceX's expansion into wireless.

ASTS is building a network of satellites that connect directly to ordinary smartphones, allowing people to make calls, send texts, and access the internet in places without traditional cell coverage.

And its business model is particularly interesting.

ASTS doesn’t want to compete directly with existing wireless carriers like SpaceX.

ASTS partners with existing wireless carriers.

• Customers keep their phones.

• They keep their carriers.

• And when they travel beyond the reach of a cell tower, ASTS keeps them connected through satellites.

ASTS already has commercial agreements with AT&T and Verizon.

And they’re expected to play a big role in the joint venture formed by AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile to expand satellite connectivity across the U.S.

And now that SpaceX is directly infringing on these existing carriers’ territory, these companies have a few options:

• They can spend billions of dollars and years building their own satellite networks.

• They can build out their satellite coverage with ASTS – a company they’re already partners with.

• Or they can roll over and die.

Clearly, the second option makes the most sense.

And AST SpaceMobile’s strategic position just became a whole lot more important because of it.

Buy Alert: AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) @ $53/share

I’m using Friday’s selloff to add AST SpaceMobile to my Million Mission portfolio.

Investors saw SpaceX acquire more spectrum and immediately concluded that a stronger SpaceX means a weaker ASTS.

The reality is different.

The bigger the SpaceX threat becomes, the more important satellite connectivity becomes to AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and other carriers around the world.

They already have the customers. They already have the spectrum. And in the U.S., the three largest carriers have already joined forces to expand their satellite capabilities.

ASTS gives them the missing piece: a satellite network that works with them rather than against them.

That brings me back to my original question.

SpaceX is coming after the largest wireless companies in the world.

I’m betting they don’t roll over and die.

I’m betting they fight back.

And I’m betting AST SpaceMobile helps them do it.