Both Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) sell the same thing to investors: a vision of the future. But they are at very different stages, and for a decade-long innovation bet, that difference matters more than the headlines. Please consider this, though: Chatter of a merger between Tesla and Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) has intensified, though nothing is official. Rocket Lab: The focused challengerRocket Lab is earlier in its story, and that is the appeal. Its larger Neutron rocket is coming, and it is steadily assembling an end-to-end space company, edging toward a smaller version of SpaceX.