By ByteBot
SpaceX filed confidentially for an initial public offering today, seeking a $1.75 trillion valuation that would shatter every IPO record in history. The company plans to raise up to $75 billion—2.5 times larger than Saudi Aramco’s $29.4 billion raise in 2019, which held the record for seven years. This marks the first time a company will enter public markets valued above $1 trillion.
The filing comes three months after SpaceX acquired xAI in a $1.25 trillion all-stock merger that folded Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture—along with X, the platform formerly known as Twitter—into the aerospace giant. If the valuation holds through the June listing, Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire.
The Numbers Demolish All Records
To understand the scale: Alibaba raised $21.7 billion in 2014. Facebook raised $16 billion in 2012. SpaceX’s $75 billion target is larger than both combined, then doubled. The company has lined up 21 underwriting banks for what’s internally coded “Project Apex.”
For context, SpaceX would enter the public markets worth more than most S&P 500 companies. This isn’t just the largest tech IPO—it’s the largest public offering in human history, period.
You’re Buying Starlink, Not Rockets
Here’s what matters: Starlink drives 79% of SpaceX’s revenue. The satellite internet service is projected to generate $18.7 billion in 2026, up 80% year-over-year, serving more than 9 million users globally. SpaceX’s total revenue is tracking toward $24 billion this year, with EBITDA margins around 25%.
This is a recurring revenue business, not a one-time rocket launch service. Starlink subscribers doubled from 2.3 million at the end of 2023 to 4.6 million in 2024, then doubled again to 9.2 million through 2025. That’s the engine justifying a premium valuation—and it’s real, profitable, and growing fast.
The rest of SpaceX—launch services, Starship development, NASA contracts—accounts for roughly $5 billion in revenue. Important, but secondary to the satellite internet cash machine.
The xAI Wildcard
Then there’s the February merger. SpaceX acquired xAI for $250 billion, absorbing Musk’s Grok chatbot and the X social platform into a combined entity. The strategic vision: “orbital data centers” that run AI compute on Starlink satellites, bypassing terrestrial energy and land restrictions.
It’s an ambitious idea. It’s also, by most accounts, years away from reality. Morningstar estimates the orbital compute concept would require roughly 6,667 Starship flights annually—530 times the current global launch mass—putting “realization well beyond any near-term planning horizon.”
Meanwhile, xAI is hemorrhaging money with near-zero market share against OpenAI and Anthropic. X continues losing users steadily since Musk’s acquisition. The bull case says Musk will figure it out, as he did with Tesla. The bear case says you’re paying 73 times revenue to subsidize a money pit.
The Most Expensive Stock Ever?
At $1.75 trillion with $24 billion in revenue, SpaceX trades at roughly 73 times sales. For comparison, high-growth software companies rarely exceed 20x. Most mature tech trades at 5-10x. If this valuation holds, SpaceX becomes one of the most expensive large-cap stocks in history by traditional metrics.
The argument for that premium: Starlink’s monopoly position and recurring revenue model justify paying up. Musk’s track record—Tesla stock is up 2000% since its 2010 IPO—suggests he can execute on audacious visions. Space and AI convergence represents the future of infrastructure.
The argument against: almost all the upside is already priced in. Fortune bluntly assessed that the IPO “won’t deliver 100x returns.” Retail investors, who’ll get an unusually generous 30% allocation of shares, could be buying at the peak just as institutional money exits.
What Happens Next
SpaceX expects to list publicly around June 2026 after SEC review of its confidential S-1 filing. The company will eventually release a public prospectus with detailed financials, giving investors their first comprehensive look at revenue breakdown, profitability, and xAI’s burn rate.
Watch the final valuation. It may adjust from $1.75 trillion based on market conditions and investor feedback. Watch the governance structure—reports suggest dual-class shares that would entrench Musk and insiders. And watch how this precedent shapes upcoming IPOs from OpenAI and Anthropic, both rumored to be considering public listings.
For developers and tech professionals: this is a bet on Musk’s execution, not a guaranteed win. If you believe orbital data centers will work and Starlink can sustain 80% growth, the valuation starts to make sense. If you think that’s science fiction, you’re paying 73 times revenue for a satellite internet company that’s also subsidizing an AI venture losing money at scale.
Expensive? Absolutely. Insane? That depends entirely on whether the orbital compute vision is visionary or vaporware.
