SpaceX files for IPO at $1.75T valuation in what could be the biggest listing in history
What's the deal? SpaceX has confidentially filed for an initial public offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, setting the stage for what could be the largest stock market debut in history.
The Texas-headquartered company is targeting a valuation of approximately $1.75 trillion and aims to raise up to $75 billion — more than double the current record held by Saudi AramcoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s $29 billion IPO in 2019. A June listing is being targeted, potentially timed to coincide with Elon MuskDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s 55th birthday. Up to 30% of the offering may be allocated to retail investors.
Five banks have been appointed to lead roles: Bank of AmericaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, CitigroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Goldman SachsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, JPMorgan ChaseDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Morgan StanleyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. A dual-class share structure is being considered that would give insiders, including Musk, outsized voting power. SpaceX plans to float less than 5% of its equity. The filing puts SpaceX on track to be the first of a potential trio of mega-IPOs in 2026, ahead of OpenAI and AnthropicDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Why now? SpaceX executives spent years saying the company would not go public until rockets were regularly flying to Mars. The shift reflects Musk's conviction that the next frontier for AI dominance is building data centres in space — a capital-intensive endeavour that a giant public offering could help fund.
The February 2026 acquisition of Musk's AI startup xAIDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → — valued at $1.25 trillion in the combined entity — transformed SpaceX into a conglomerate spanning rocket launches, satellite internet, and artificial intelligence, making a public listing both more complex and more compelling for investors.
Nasdaq also recently changed its index inclusion rules, removing the requirement that at least 10% of a company's shares be publicly available, and cutting the waiting period to join the Nasdaq 100 from three months to 15 days — changes that directly benefit SpaceX's plan to float less than 5% of its equity while still gaining index inclusion.
What could go wrong? SpaceX's xAI arm is generating less than $1 billion in revenue, while the rocket and Starlink businesses approach $20 billion in 2026. Investors will be asked to pay a valuation that heavily prices in xAI's future potential — a significant assumption. A dual-class share structure would entrench Musk's control, exposing public shareholders to governance risk at a company whose CEO is simultaneously running Tesla, X, and a government advisory role.
Floating less than 5% of equity limits price discovery and liquidity, and Nasdaq's fast-tracking of newly listed companies onto its indices has drawn criticism for potentially distorting post-IPO pricing.
The signal: SpaceX's IPO is not just a corporate event — it is a referendum on whether public markets are willing to value a space, satellite, and AI conglomerate controlled by the world's richest person at a price surpassed by only five companies in American history.
If it succeeds, it will reshape the IPO market and open the door for OpenAI and Anthropic to follow. If the valuation proves too rich, it could dampen the broader tech IPO revival that Wall Street has been waiting for since 2021.
Sources:
TechCrunch
BBC
Reuters
CNBC
Silicon Republic
Forbes
The Financial Times
The Wall Street Journal
Bloomberg
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