NEW YORK (Realist English). Elon Musk’s SpaceX is preparing for a historic initial public offering (IPO), which will become the largest in stock market history.
An unprecedented feature of the deal is a record share of shares — up to 30% — reserved for retail (individual) investors. Trading will begin on June 12 under the ticker SPCX on the Nasdaq.
Record IPO Parameters
SpaceX has set the offering price at $135 per share. The company plans to sell 555.6 million shares, which would raise $75 billion. Underwriters have the option to purchase an additional 83.3 million shares (an extra $11.2 billion).
Key records:
- The largest IPO in history, more than double the record of Saudi Aramco in 2019 ($29.4 billion).
- SpaceX’s estimated valuation ranges from $1.75 trillion to $1.8 trillion, which could make Musk the world’s first trillionaire.
The investor roadshow will begin on June 8, with the final price to be announced on June 11.
Unprecedented Share for Retail Investors
Unlike typical large IPOs, where the retail investor share is 5–10%, SpaceX will allocate up to 30% of shares to ordinary buyers. This will allow millions of Musk’s fans to buy shares at the offering price, on par with the largest institutional funds.
Access to the offering will be available to clients of brokers Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Robinhood, SoFi Technologies and Morgan Stanley (E TRADE). Robinhood and SoFi do not require a minimum account balance; Fidelity lowered its threshold from $100,000 to $2,000; Schwab requires $100,000.
SpaceX’s Finances: Starlink in the Black, xAI in the Red
The only profitable division remains satellite internet Starlink:
- 2025: operating profit $4.4 billion, revenue $11.4 billion.
- Q1 2026: revenue $3.26 billion, operating profit $1.19 billion.
However, the company as a whole is unprofitable due to the acquisition of AI startup xAI:
- 2025: net loss $4.94 billion, revenue $18.67 billion.
- Q1 2026: net loss $4.28 billion, revenue $4.69 billion. xAI’s losses reached $2.5 billion on revenue of $818 million.
Capital expenditures in Q1 amounted to $10.1 billion (76% of which went to AI infrastructure).
Musk to Retain 85% of Voting Power
Elon Musk will retain 85.1% of voting shares thanks to a dual-class structure: Class B shares (10 votes) versus Class A shares (1 vote), which will be publicly traded. Musk is required to hold his shares for 366 days after the IPO.
The board of directors protects Musk from any removal attempts, and his compensation is tied to ambitious goals: establishing a permanent settlement on Mars and orbital data centres with a capacity of 100 terawatts.
Betting on Retail Investor Loyalty
Analysts interpret the decision to allocate 30% of shares to retail investors as an attempt to create a “built-in stability mechanism.” Musk’s loyal fans are expected to hold their shares, providing support for the stock price. The standard 6‑month lock‑up period may be waived for them — they will be able to trade from day one.
It is also a necessary measure: large institutional investors are resisting the inflated valuation, preferring a range of $1.5 trillion. Attracting millions of retail investors helps bridge that gap.
Since the end of May, updated “fast track” listing rules on Nasdaq have allowed mega‑IPOs to be included in major market indices almost immediately. If SpaceX debuts with a valuation of around $2 trillion, index funds will be forced to buy billions of dollars’ worth of shares shortly after the listing.
Risks: Overvaluation and Losses
Analysts warn that SpaceX is overvalued:
- The price-to-sales (P/S) multiple, based on $18.7 billion in revenue and a $1.75 trillion valuation, stands at 93.7x. By comparison, Nvidia trades at around 24x, while Apple and Microsoft trade at 10–12x. Only eight technology companies in history have traded with a P/S above 100x — and all of them subsequently fell by an average of 75%.
- Much of the valuation ($28.5 trillion of potential market) is based on technologies that do not yet exist (solar‑powered data centres in space).
- Morningstar estimates SpaceX’s fair value at $780 billion — 48% below the IPO target valuation. Michael Burry (of “The Big Short” fame) has warned of a possible bubble.
The SpaceX IPO will be a crucial test for the stock market. For the first time, the world’s largest company is going public with an unprecedented share of shares allocated to retail investors, betting on their loyalty. However, the financial picture remains troubling: Starlink’s profits do not offset the colossal losses from Musk’s AI ambitions.
By buying shares at $135, investors are paying not for real profits today, but for the belief that Elon Musk can create new markets where none yet exist.
