Elon Musk’s rocket giant SpaceX has quietly taken a huge step toward what could become the biggest stock market debut in history – filing confidentially for a blockbuster IPO that could value the company at up to $2 trillion.
The move sets the stage for a market-shaking listing that could instantly rank SpaceX among the six most valuable companies on Earth.
At a potential valuation north of $1.75 trillion, the Elon Musk-led rocket and satellite company would dwarf previous listings. It would sit behind only Nvidia, Apple, Google-owner Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon. It would also be bigger than Musk’s own carmaker Tesla and Meta.
Behind the scenes, SpaceX has been assembling a heavyweight lineup of Wall Street banks to handle the deal.
Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America are the lead banks managing the offering – a clear sign of just how large and complex it is expected to be.
The IPO push comes after SpaceX merged with Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI – creating a sprawling tech powerhouse spanning rockets, satellites and AI systems.
Founded in 2002, SpaceX has evolved from a reusable rocket startup into NASA’s leading launch partner after the space shuttle program ended in 2011.
If it lists, Musk would become the first person to run two trillion-dollar public companies. His carmaker Tesla – long the main source of his wealth – is worth around $1.4 trillion, while his personal fortune sits near $840 billion.
The blockbuster float is expected to raise more than $50 billion – comfortably surpassing Saudi Aramco’s $29.4 billion listing in 2019, which remains the largest IPO ever staged.
That figure, however, is only a fraction of SpaceX’s eye-watering overall valuation, which could approach $2 trillion.
That’s because in an IPO, a company only sells a small slice of itself to the public. SpaceX is expected to offer just a few percent of its total shares, using that limited stake to raise tens of billions in fresh cash.
The vast majority of the business would remain in the hands of Elon Musk and existing investors – meaning the total value of the company can be enormous, even though the amount raised in the listing is far smaller.
According to Charlie Bilello, CEO of Compound Capital Advisors, the company was worth around $10 billion ten years ago.
Much of that value is now tied to its satellite internet arm, Starlink, alongside its next-generation rocket programme, Starship, and lucrative government contracts.
Starlink has expanded rapidly from its early user base, with Elon Musk saying the service has grown to more than 2.5 million users globally and is active in dozens of countries.
Meanwhile, Starship – the fully reusable rocket system designed to carry cargo and humans to the Moon and Mars – remains central to SpaceX’s ambitions.
The company has now conducted multiple high-profile test flights, including integrated launches of Starship stacked on its Super Heavy booster, standing roughly 400 feet tall, making it the most powerful rocket ever built.
The programme is both ambitious and capital-intensive, but is also key to future NASA missions and commercial space travel.
Government work continues to play a major role in SpaceX’s growth.
The company has secured billions of dollars in contracts from NASA and the Pentagon, including a $2.9 billion contract to develop a lunar lander for NASA’s Artemis programme.
Taken together, these ventures – from broadband to deep space exploration – help explain why SpaceX’s valuation has surged so dramatically in recent years.
