"To Extend the Light of Consciousness to the Stars": SpaceX Reveals $1.75tn IPO Plan That Could Make Elon Musk the World's First Trillionaire

20 May 2026 | Hawthorne, California — Updated 16:45 GMT

HAWTHORNE – SpaceX has unveiled its plans to list publicly on the US stock market, disclosing its investor prospectus and revealing details about its closely guarded finances for the first time. Elon Musk's rocket and satellite operations company will go public on the Nasdaq exchange at a valuation of about $1.75tn under the symbol SPCX, likely on 12 June, seeking up to $80bn in investment.

The disclosure marks one of the most anticipated IPOs in market history — and one that could push Musk, already the world's richest person, past the trillion-dollar net worth milestone, according to Forbes estimates. His current net worth stands at $807bn.

'To Extend the Light of Consciousness to the Stars': SpaceX's Mission Statement

"Our mission is to build the systems and technologies necessary to make life multiplanetary, to understand the true nature of the universe, and to extend the light of consciousness to the stars," SpaceX declared in its filing — a characteristically ambitious statement from a company that has grown since its founding in 2002 into the most valuable piece of Musk's vast tech empire.

The company, which is the world's most prominent rocket maker and which has extensive contracts with the US government, confidentially filed for an IPO on 1 April. The filing allowed for a period of regulatory review before the details became public. The IPO could take place as early as 12 June, in what is expected to be a banner year for high-value public offerings.

SpaceX's forthcoming IPO stands to make the world's richest person even wealthier, moving him closer to becoming a trillionaire. A successful public offering would be a major victory for the tech mogul after a volatile year that included overseeing DOGE's restructuring of the federal government, widespread protests against Tesla, and investigations into his Grok chatbot.

The Numbers: Starlink Shines, Heavy Losses in Early 2026

The disclosure on Wednesday shed light on SpaceX's usually secretive finances, showing that it is plowing billions of dollars into AI and had a capital expenditure last year of more than $20bn against $18.7bn in revenue for 2025. It also showed that the company lost over $4.2bn in the first three months of 2026 — a reflection of massive investments ahead of the IPO.

The company revealed that its connectivity segment, which includes its Starlink satellite internet provider, has been the strongest pillar of its business. The connectivity segment brought in over $3.2bn in revenue between January and the end of March 2026 alone, and $11.4bn in 2025. Starlink ranks among the largest operators of satellites on the planet and is estimated to bring in over half of SpaceX's revenue.

The satellite internet service has also increased Musk's geopolitical influence, with foreign actors such as the Ukrainian military relying on Starlink for combat operations and planning.

From Mars to Orbit: SpaceX's Changing Priorities

While SpaceX for years touted its mission of expanding humanity to Mars, that goal has been sidelined amid several other plans that include creating data centers in orbit to help fuel the AI boom and expanding its Starlink services. The company also acquired Musk's AI firm, xAI, in February — citing plans to build solar-powered datacenters in space that could help meet the computer and energy demands of the AI boom.

The artificial intelligence firm, which owns the social media platform X and makes the Grok chatbot, has lagged behind the capabilities of rivals such as Anthropic's Claude or OpenAI's ChatGPT but was nevertheless valued at $250bn in the acquisition.

SpaceX has shifted its focus in recent months more toward orbital datacenters and assisting with NASA's forthcoming moon landing missions, while Musk's long-vowed plans to build a civilization on Mars are no longer as prominent a talking point.

The Blockbuster Year of IPOs: SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic

SpaceX's investor prospectus lists OpenAI along with other major AI firms such as Anthropic as key competitors to its business. All three businesses are set to go public this year, each at valuations of hundreds of billions or more than a trillion dollars, in what is one of the most blockbuster periods for public offerings in market history.

OpenAI is also planning to go public later this year at an immense valuation, announcing on Tuesday that it had closed a funding round of $122bn. Anthropic is preparing its own IPO as well.

The disclosure takes some of the eyes off of Musk's loss earlier this week in his court battle with OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman. A federal jury found, after a three-week long trial, that Altman and OpenAI were not liable for Musk's claims that he broke a founding agreement of the business and unjustly enriched themselves.

Government Contracts and Geopolitical Reach

Over the past decade, SpaceX has grown to become the most valuable enterprise in Musk's sprawling tech empire. It has signed extensive, lucrative contracts with the US government for defense and space travel. The US space program is heavily dependent on the company, with NASA utilizing SpaceX rockets for the majority of its launches.

In addition to its rockets, Starlink has become a critical communications backbone for Ukraine's military. The satellite internet service has been used extensively for combat operations and planning, giving Musk unprecedented geopolitical influence.

The company is working with a number of prominent international banks, including Barclays plc in the UK, to coordinate on orders for the IPO, according to Bloomberg reports from early April when the confidential filing was first revealed.

What This Means for Musk: The First Trillionaire?

Musk, already the world's richest man, stands to grow his fortune even more from the IPO and get closer to becoming the world's sole trillionaire. His current net worth of $807bn — built on his stakes in Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, and other ventures — could surge past $1tn if the IPO values SpaceX at its target and markets respond positively.

The IPO also represents a significant test of investor appetite for Musk's vision. While SpaceX has a strong track record of government contracts and Starlink's revenue growth, the company is burning through cash as it invests heavily in orbital data centers, AI infrastructure, and next-generation rockets.

Details of SpaceX's finances — long a tightly held secret even to most investors — are now public. The cost of shares and other information on the listing will become fully available after the Securities and Exchange Commission completes its review of the filing.

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