SpaceX just filed confidentially with the SEC to go public.
CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, and CNN all confirmed the filing on April 1st. The IPO could happen as early as June.
But this story already has drama. When Bloomberg reported SpaceX was targeting a valuation above $2 trillion, Musk fired back on X saying "Don't believe everything you read. Bloomberg publishes bs." The company's actual target appears to be closer to $1.75 trillion, which would still make this the largest IPO in American history by a wide margin.
Here is everything we know right now.
The numbers
SpaceX is seeking a valuation of approximately $1.75 trillion. Even at that level, it would debut as one of the most valuable public companies in America, potentially worth more than Tesla.
The company plans to raise between $50 billion and $75 billion. If it hits the high end, it would be more than three times the size of the largest U.S. IPO ever. The current record belongs to Alibaba, which raised $22 billion in 2014.
SpaceX generated roughly $15 billion in revenue in 2025 with around $8 billion in EBITDA. Nearly all of that revenue comes from Starlink, the satellite internet service that now has 9.2 million subscribers and runs on about 10,000 satellites in low-earth orbit. Analysts project Starlink revenue could reach $24 billion by the end of 2026.
The xAI merger changes the story
In February 2026, SpaceX merged with Elon Musk's AI company xAI in a deal that valued the combined entity at $1.25 trillion. That merger brought X, formerly Twitter, and the Grok chatbot under the SpaceX umbrella as subsidiaries.
This matters for two reasons. First, it means SpaceX is no longer just a rocket and satellite company. It is now also an AI company competing with OpenAI and Anthropic. A significant portion of the IPO proceeds is expected to go toward purchasing Nvidia chips to scale xAI's infrastructure.
Second, the merger was partly designed to prepare for the IPO itself. Combining the companies consolidates Musk's empire under one public entity and gives investors exposure to rockets, satellites, internet service, social media, and AI in a single stock.
It's worth noting that all 11 original xAI co-founders have since left the company. Whether the combined entity can execute on its AI ambitions without that founding team remains an open question.
The retail investor angle
This is unusual. SpaceX is reportedly planning to allocate up to 30 percent of shares to retail investors. The typical IPO allocation for retail is around 10 percent.
If that holds, it would give everyday investors direct access to the IPO at the offering price rather than having to buy on the open market after institutions have already driven the price up. For a company with this much hype, that's significant.
Musk also debunked rumors that Robinhood and SoFi would be excluded from the IPO, posting on X on March 31st that "these reports are false."
Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley are lined up as senior underwriters. There are also reports that Musk is requiring the banks to subscribe to Grok as a condition of working on the deal.
Who benefits before the IPO even happens
Alphabet invested $900 million in SpaceX back in 2015 and is believed to still hold approximately 7 percent of the company. At a $1.75 trillion valuation, that stake would be worth well over $100 billion. It would be one of the most profitable venture investments in history.
Tesla also has exposure. The company received government approval to convert its investment in xAI into a small stake in SpaceX. Once the IPO happens, that stake gets publicly valued for the first time, which could add to Tesla's balance sheet. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives has even predicted a potential Tesla-SpaceX merger as early as 2027, calling it the "holy grail."
Nvidia benefits indirectly. SpaceX and xAI are major customers for AI chips, and Musk has said both companies will continue purchasing Nvidia chips at scale. More capital from the IPO means more chip purchases.
The risks nobody is talking about
The valuation is extreme even at $1.75 trillion. On roughly $15 billion in revenue, SpaceX would trade at approximately 115 times sales. For comparison, Meta generates roughly $200 billion in revenue and recently traded at around a $1.45 trillion valuation. SpaceX would be worth more than Meta on a fraction of the revenue.
The xAI portion of the business is burning cash. Competing with OpenAI and Anthropic requires massive investment in data centers and compute. That cash has to come from somewhere, and SpaceX's Starlink profits are now subsidizing an AI arms race. Musk has even talked about deploying one million data centers in orbit, a vision that is wildly ambitious and completely unproven.
Musk's attention remains spread thin. Even though xAI and X now sit under SpaceX as subsidiaries, they each have distinct business models and operational demands. Add Tesla, Neuralink, and The Boring Company on top, and Musk is managing an unprecedented number of ventures simultaneously. Tesla's sales growth has already stalled as Musk's other businesses have ramped up, which is not a great signal for SpaceX investors hoping for focused leadership.
Starship is still in development. The next launch, designated IFT-12, will be the first flight of the v3 configuration and is targeting early to mid-May 2026. Previous tests have had mishaps and explosions. Delays in the next-generation rocket program could undermine confidence heading into the IPO.
Historical precedent is not kind to mega-IPOs. Both Saudi Aramco and Meta struggled for several quarters after their public debuts. Emotions tend to overwhelm fundamentals on IPO day, and the hype around SpaceX is at levels rarely seen in public markets.
The VonTrend bottom line
SpaceX has filed. Musk is already managing expectations by pushing back on the most aggressive valuation rumors. The IPO is going to dominate financial media for the next two to three months.
The smart move is not to get caught up in the hype or the fear. Watch the S-1 when it becomes public. Look at actual revenue growth, margins, and how much of the raise is earmarked for xAI versus core SpaceX operations. The valuation will either be justified by the numbers or it won't.
We will be covering this closely as more details emerge. If you want to stay ahead of the SpaceX IPO story, make sure you are subscribed.
