SpaceX plans to raise $75bn (Reuters cite an unnamed source) in its IPO by selling 555.6 million shares at $135 each, implying a $1.75 trillion valuation; the roadshow begins Thursday, a source told Reuters.
Summary:
- SpaceX plans to raise $75 billion by selling 555.6 million shares at a target price of $135 each, implying a valuation of $1.75 trillion; the roadshow begins Thursday
- Setting a specific target price before the roadshow is highly unusual; companies typically establish a price range only after investor presentations, with final pricing the day before the offering
- The $1.75 trillion IPO valuation represents a significant step-up from the $1.25 trillion private market valuation SpaceX secured following its merger with xAI, which also absorbed social media platform X
- Elon Musk has discussed combining SpaceX and Tesla with colleagues, according to CNBC; Tesla carries a market cap of around $1.6 trillion, meaning a combined entity would rank among the most valuable companies ever assembled
- SpaceX’s IPO prospectus discloses deep financial ties with Tesla: $697 million in Tesla Megapack purchases and $131 million in Cybertrucks in 2024-25, while Tesla invested $2 billion in xAI whose holdings subsequently converted into SpaceX stock
- More than three-quarters of SpaceX’s $10.1 billion Q1 capital expenditure was AI-related; Musk’s compensation at SpaceX is tied to a $7.5 trillion market cap target, giving him a direct personal incentive to pursue scale through a potential combination
SpaceX is targeting a $75 billion initial public offering at $135 per share, according to a source familiar with the matter, in a deal that would value the rocket and satellite company at $1.75 trillion when its Nasdaq roadshow kicks off on Thursday.
The company plans to sell 555.6 million shares to achieve the target raise. The pricing approach itself is drawing attention: setting a specific target before investor presentations begin is highly unconventional. Companies going public typically establish a price range during the roadshow process and set a final figure only the day before the offering. That SpaceX has named a number this early points to significant confidence in institutional demand.
The $1.75 trillion valuation marks a substantial step up from the $1.25 trillion private market figure SpaceX carried following its merger with Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture xAI, which also absorbed social media platform X. That combination closed earlier this year and significantly expanded the company’s AI infrastructure footprint, with more than three-quarters of SpaceX’s $10.1 billion first-quarter capital expenditure directed toward AI-related investment.
Circling the IPO is a separate and longer-running question: whether Musk ultimately intends to combine SpaceX with Tesla. CNBC reported last week that Musk has discussed the possibility with close colleagues, a conversation that Tesla employees say has been openly aired internally for some time. Tesla carries a market capitalisation of around $1.6 trillion, meaning a merged entity would rank among the most valuable companies ever listed. The structural ties between the two businesses are already substantial: shared engineering personnel, overlapping board membership, $697 million in Tesla Megapack purchases disclosed in the SpaceX prospectus, and Tesla’s $2 billion xAI investment that converted into SpaceX holdings when the merger closed.
Musk’s compensation arrangements add a personal dimension. His SpaceX pay package is linked to a $7.5 trillion market cap target alongside Mars colonisation milestones, making scale a direct financial incentive rather than merely a strategic preference.
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The decision to set a specific target price before the roadshow rather than a range is a deliberate signal of demand confidence and gives the offering an unusual degree of pricing conviction at an early stage. At $1.75 trillion, SpaceX would debut as one of the most valuable listed companies in the world, and the valuation step-up from its $1.25 trillion private market figure implies significant institutional appetite. The Tesla-SpaceX merger speculation adds an overhang that equity markets will price separately: a combined entity at theoretical scale would reshape index weightings, passive fund flows and the AI infrastructure investment narrative simultaneously.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.
