In a surprise move ahead of its investor roadshow, Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to fix its IPO price at $135 per share to raise a record-setting $75 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The rocket and satellite communications company plans to sell 555.6 million shares, targeting a valuation of $1.75 trillion.
The listing leads a wave of high-profile private companies preparing to test public markets after years of muted large-cap IPO activity, with SpaceX expected to be followed by artificial intelligence giants OpenAI and Anthropic.
Breaking With Tradition
A fixed price ahead of presentations to investors and bookbuilding is highly unusual. Companies planning to go public typically set a price range to frame valuation expectations and allow pricing to be adjusted based on investor demand.
Strong demand can push the final price to the top of the range, or above it, ahead of the market debut.
SpaceX’s roadshow begins on Thursday, after earlier holding some “testing the waters” meetings with investors.
The company’s plans, including the size of the raise, are subject to change as investor meetings get under way, sources cautioned.
There is no rule banning SpaceX’s unconventional approach. “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 law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
Rewriting The IPO Playbook
Musk has rewritten the IPO playbook in many other ways, from planning to give retail investors a larger role in allocations to pushing for early index inclusion, and structuring governance to preserve strong founder control.
The company is considering allocating as much as 30% of the offering to individual investors, an unusually large retail tranche aimed at tapping into Musk’s cult-like following and broadening ownership of the company.
The IPO is expected to be structured as an all-primary offering, meaning all proceeds would go to the company and existing shareholders will not be able to sell their shares.
Musk will be required to hold his SpaceX shares for 366 days after the IPO, a signal to investors of his commitment. Proceeds will be used to expand AI computing resources and SpaceX’s satellite network.
Valuation And Comparables
SpaceX merged with Musk’s AI startup xAI earlier this year in a deal that valued the rocket company at $1 trillion and the developer of the Grok AI chatbot at $250 billion.
The company has no direct peers, making its valuation subject to interpretation. Morningstar placed a $780 billion price tag on SpaceX — 48% below its current private-market valuation — with most of that value derived from its Starlink satellite communications business, which drove most of its revenue, profits and growth last year.
At a $1.75 trillion valuation with $18.67 billion in 2025 revenue, SpaceX would trade at a trailing price-to-revenue multiple of 93.7 times.
For context, Rocket Lab trades at 118 times, Palantir at 81 times, and Tesla at nearly 17 times. SpaceX cannot be evaluated on a price-to-earnings basis, as it reported a net loss last year.
A Bet On Musk As Much As SpaceX
The listing is expected to kick off a wave of mega IPOs, with SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic together poised to add almost $4 trillion in market capitalization to public markets.
For many investors, the bet is as much on Musk as on SpaceX.
His track record at Tesla and his ability to galvanize retail traders could spur strong demand, as his reputation has done for past ventures.
“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.
Cash Burn And Governance Concerns
Still, two of SpaceX’s three businesses are burning cash, with only its Starlink connectivity segment generating profits.
Revenue rose to $4.69 billion in the first quarter from $4.07 billion a year ago, but losses widened to $1.27 per share versus 18 cents over the same period.
In 2025, the company swung to a net loss of $4.94 billion from a profit of $791 million.
Corporate governance concerns could also give investors pause. A dual-class share structure concentrates voting power in the hands of Musk and a small group of insiders. SpaceX is aiming to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker “SPCX,” with its debut expected on June 12. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, Citigroup and J.P. Morgan are leading the underwriting syndicate.
(with input from Reuters)
