Elon Musk's SpaceX is preparing to set its initial public offering price at $135 per share, targeting a record-breaking $75 billion raise that would value the rocket and satellite company at $1.75 trillion. The aerospace company plans to sell approximately 555.6 million shares in what would become one of the largest public offerings in history.

Why Is SpaceX Taking Such an Unconventional Approach to Its IPO?

SpaceX's strategy breaks traditional IPO playbooks in a striking way. Rather than setting a price range and allowing investor demand to determine the final price, Musk is taking what experts call a "take-it-or-leave-it" approach by announcing a fixed price before the investor roadshow even begins. This is highly unusual in the world of public offerings.

"Musk is simply taking a 'take-it-or-leave-it' approach which works for his followers and is also sensible given the market conditions and the lack of comparables," said Weiheng Chen, a senior partner at U.S. law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

Weiheng Chen, Senior Partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

The company's roadshow is scheduled to begin on Thursday, with the debut expected on June 12 under the ticker symbol "SPCX" on the Nasdaq. The IPO will consist entirely of newly issued shares, meaning existing SpaceX shareholders will not be able to sell their holdings in this offering.

What Makes SpaceX's Valuation So Controversial?

SpaceX's $1.75 trillion valuation relies heavily on technologies and markets that do not yet exist. The company is betting on dominance in areas ranging from Mars missions to artificial intelligence data centers in space. At this valuation, SpaceX would trade at a price-to-revenue multiple of 93.7 times based on 2025 revenue of $18.67 billion, far exceeding comparable companies.

For context, space company Rocket Lab trades at a multiple of 118, data analytics firm Palantir Technologies at 81, and Tesla at nearly 17. SpaceX cannot be evaluated on a traditional price-to-earnings basis because the company reported a net loss of $4.94 billion in 2025, compared to a profit of $791 million in 2024.

Morningstar placed a significantly lower $780 billion price tag on SpaceX, representing 48 percent below its current private-market valuation. Most of Morningstar's valuation comes from Starlink, SpaceX's satellite communications business, which drove most of the company's revenue, profits, and growth last year.

How Does SpaceX's xAI Merger Factor Into the IPO?

SpaceX merged with Musk's AI startup xAI earlier in 2026, a deal that valued the rocket company at $1 trillion and the developer of the Grok AI chatbot at $250 billion. This merger means investors buying SpaceX shares are not getting exposure to a pure space company. Instead, they are acquiring a diversified portfolio that includes rockets, satellite internet, and an AI division.

The company is increasingly positioning itself as an infrastructure landlord. SpaceX recently signed Anthropic, a direct rival in the AI space, to a contract worth approximately $15 billion per year to lease access to its Colossus supercomputer, with orbital data centers pitched as the next frontier. This arrangement highlights how SpaceX is evolving beyond traditional aerospace into the competitive AI infrastructure market.

How to Evaluate SpaceX's Growth Prospects and Investment Strategy

• Revenue Concentration: Starlink satellite communications is the only profitable business segment, generating most of SpaceX's revenue and cash flow, while two of three business segments are currently burning cash.
• Future Revenue Bets: SpaceX is targeting a potential $28.5 trillion market through solar-powered data centers in space and AI infrastructure, technologies that have not yet been built at scale.
• Founder Control Structure: The IPO will include a dual-class share structure that concentrates voting power in Musk's hands and a small group of insiders, with Musk required to hold his shares for 366 days after the IPO.
• Retail Investor Allocation: SpaceX plans to allocate as much as 30 percent of the offering to individual investors, an unusually large retail tranche designed to tap into Musk's devoted following.

The IPO proceeds will be used for purposes including expanding AI computing resources and SpaceX's satellite network. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, Citigroup, and J.P. Morgan are serving as joint book-running managers for the offering, leading a syndicate of global investment banks.

What Does SpaceX's IPO Mean for Global AI Competition?

SpaceX's public offering is expected to trigger a wave of mega IPOs in the technology sector. OpenAI and Anthropic are both preparing to go public in the coming months, with the three companies together poised to add almost $4 trillion in market capitalization to public markets. A successful SpaceX debut could accelerate timelines for these AI-focused competitors to pursue their own public offerings.

For many investors, the bet on SpaceX is as much about Musk's track record as it is about the company's fundamentals. His ability to galvanize retail traders and his history at Tesla could drive strong demand for shares. However, corporate governance concerns loom large, with the concentrated voting structure and Musk's outsized influence potentially giving some investors pause.

"When you're the most anticipated IPO ever, you can ask investors to adapt to your process rather than the other way around," said Craig Coben, former Bank of America co-head of Asia-Pacific global capital markets.

Craig Coben, Former Bank of America Co-Head of Asia-Pacific Global Capital Markets

The company's plans, including the size of the raise, remain subject to change as investor meetings get underway. SpaceX's unconventional approach to pricing and governance reflects Musk's willingness to challenge traditional market conventions, a strategy that has worked for his previous ventures but carries inherent risks for public shareholders.