SpaceX Valued at $800 Billion in Insider Share Sale, Signals IPO Plans
for 2026
A sale of insider shares at $421 a share
would make Mr. Musk’s rocket company the most valuable private company in the
world, as it readies for a possible initial public offering next year.
·
SpaceX, founded and controlled by Elon Musk, is
set to be valued at around US$800 billion after announcing an internal
share buyback at US$421 per share, nearly doubling its previous internal
valuation.
·
The
company plans to repurchase US$2.56 billion worth of insider shares,
making SpaceX the most valuable private company in the world, ahead of OpenAI,
currently valued near US$500 billion.
·
In a
letter to employees, CFO Bret Johnsen said SpaceX is preparing for a
potential initial public offering as early as next year, though timing and
valuation remain uncertain and dependent on execution and market conditions.
·
If
completed, a SpaceX IPO would rank among the largest public listings ever,
representing a massive wealth-creation event for employees and investors.
·
Founded
in 2002, SpaceX has reshaped the global space industry through reusable
rockets, its Starlink satellite internet network, and close partnerships
with NASA and the Pentagon, making it strategically significant
for U.S. national security.
·
Musk’s
long-term ambitions center on Starship, the
company’s next-generation rocket designed to support moon missions and
eventual human settlement on Mars, including the proposed “Moonbase Alpha,”
though parts of the lunar program are reportedly behind schedule.
·
Major
investors include Founders Fund and Alphabet, while Musk remains
the largest individual shareholder, holding about 44% as of 2022.
·
Despite
past skepticism toward public markets—highlighted by
his 2018 attempt to take Tesla private—Musk now appears open to an IPO
as SpaceX seeks capital to accelerate launch cadence, expand space-based AI
infrastructure, and advance its multi-planetary vision.
SpaceX,
the rocket and satellite maker run by Elon Musk, told employees on Friday that it
would buy insider shares in a deal that would value it at around $800 billion, and
said that it was preparing for a potential initial public offering next year.
In
a letter to employees, Bret Johnsen, SpaceX’s chief financial officer, said the
company planned to buy $2.56 billion of shares from stockholders at $421 a share,
nearly double its previous internal share price.
“Whether
it actually happens, when it happens, and at what valuation are still highly uncertain,
but the thinking is that if we execute brilliantly and the markets cooperate, a
public offering could raise a significant amount of capital,” he wrote.
The
offer to buy shares from employees would make SpaceX the world’s most valuable private
company, outstripping the A.I. company OpenAI, which is currently valued at around
$500 billion. If and when SpaceX goes public, it would likely be one of the largest
ever public listings, and an enormous wealth creation event for shareholders.
SpaceX
did not immediately return a request for comment.
Mr.
Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 and has built it into one of the world’s most influential
companies, dominating the space industry with its rockets and its Starlink
satellite internet service. It has been a jewel of his business empire and a source
of his wealth and power, along with his electric vehicle company, Tesla. SpaceX
also works closely with the Pentagon, NASA and other agencies, giving it a vital
role in national security.
Mr.
Musk, who left his role as a close adviser to President Trump in late May, has ambitions
of using a mammoth SpaceX rocket called Starship to ferry humans to Mars. He also
has a multibillion-dollar agreement with NASA to send a crewed mission to the moon,
and has referred to a proposed base on the moon as Moonbase Alpha. But SpaceX’s
plan for the moon appears to have fallen behind schedule.
SpaceX
has amassed billions of dollars in funding over the years from investors including
Founders Fund and Google’s parent company Alphabet, but Mr. Musk maintains the largest
individual stake. As of 2022, he owned 44 percent of the company.
On
X, the social media platform he owns, Mr. Musk has hinted that SpaceX would go public
soon. The world’s richest man has been a frequent critic of the public markets,
and he once threatened to take Tesla private in 2018 after battles with short sellers
and analysts.
Mr.
Musk, who recently gained a pay plan at Tesla that could be worth $1 trillion, appears
to have set those reservations aside as SpaceX looks for more money. In the letter
on Friday, Mr. Johnsen said that a public offering would open up new avenues for
the company.
“That
enables us to ramp Starship to an insane flight rate, deploy A.I. data centers in space, build Moonbase Alpha and send uncrewed and
crewed missions to Mars — ultimately increasing the probability of making life multi-planetary
in our lifetimes,” he wrote.