SpaceX begins launch sequence with historic IPO filing

SpaceX has dropped its long-awaited S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, giving investors their first detailed financial look inside the aerospace giant that Elon Musk founded in 2002.

The filing sets up a likely Nasdaq debut under ticker symbol SPCX as early as next month, with the company targeting a roadshow launch on June 8, according to CNBC. When it lists, Musk would become the rare figure commanding two separate trillion-dollar publicly traded companies simultaneously.

Wall Street titans are among the underwriters with Goldman Sachs is serving as lead left on the deal, while Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase round out the top tier, according to the prospectus. Barclays, Deutsche Bank, RBC Capital Markets, UBS and Wells Fargo are also listed as book-runners, alongside a second tier of banks including Allen & Company, Cantor, Raymond James, Stifel and William Blair, among others.

The offering is widely expected to be the largest IPO in history, with expectations of raising around $75 billion against an overall valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion, but some analysts expecting more than $2 trillion.

That marks a substantial jump from the $1.25 trillion valuation the company carried in February, following its merger with xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence startup, sonew investors will be buying in at a historically elevated price.

The prospectus confirms the deal closed earlier than some observers realized. X.AI Holdings Corp. was formally absorbed by SpaceX on February 2, 2026, while X Holdings Corp., the parent of the social network formerly known as Twitter, had previously been acquired by xAI on March 28, 2025. SpaceX also executed a five-for-one stock split across all share classes on May 4, with all per-share figures in the filing adjusted to reflect that split.

Investors considering the deal should note that the offering will create a two-class share structure that firmly entrenches Musk's authority.

Class A shares, which will be sold to the public, carry one vote each. Class B shares carry ten votes apiece. The filing states that Musk, who serves simultaneously as founder, chief executive, chief technology officer and chairman, will retain the ability to control the outcome of essentially all matters requiring shareholder approval. The company intends to claim "controlled company" status under Nasdaq's corporate governance rules, which exempts it from certain board independence requirements.

SpaceX is a tale of three divisions. The Space and Connectivity  divisions look strong as NASA's biggest launch partner and operation of roughly 10,000 satellites through its Starlink broadband service; accounting for more than half of the company's revenue last year.

But the AI division is one of the heaviest drains on the balance sheet and despite SpaceX directing roughly 60% of its capital expenditures in 2025 — approximately $20 billion — toward xAI, the division lost money and grew revenue by only around 22% according to TechCrunch.

A substantial portion of SpaceX's future prospects remain tied to Starship, the fully reusable heavy-lift rocket that has weathered a series of setbacks and redesigns. The company's 12th Starship launch could come as early as this week.

The SpaceX offering is expected to be the first of potentially three major IPOs this year, with OpenAI and Anthropic both said to be eyeing the public markets, according to CNBC. Follow-up filings will lay out the expected per-share pricing range and likely more detail on the company's top shareholders.