04/02/26 11:06am Even as SpaceX goes public, Elon Musk is setting terms to retain tight control over his vast space-tech empire. Fabrice Coffrini / AFP via Getty Images Elon Musk and a circle of institutional and elite individual investors are set for enormous gains as SpaceX has confidentially filed with the SEC to go public, multiple news outlets reported yesterday (April 1). The IPO, expected as early as June, could value SpaceX at over $1.75 trillion and raise as much as $50 billion, giving early backers and Musk himself a spectacular payday. Sign Up For Our Daily Newsletter Sign Up EchoStar and its chairman, Charlie Ergen. SpaceX’s stock-based purchases of spectrum rights from EchoStar—worth over $19 billion combined—mean those shares could dramatically appreciate once the IPO begins trading. For SpaceX’s earliest investors, the IPO represents long-awaited liquidity. In 2015, Google and Fidelity each took part in a $1 billion round that gave them nearly 10 percent of the rocket and satellite company. Their positions, mostly illiquid and difficult to value in private markets, could now be marked up severalfold. Meanwhile, some latecomers to private rounds who gained exposure through brokered vehicles or layered investment structures may find their ownership less clear-cut. The offering will give public investors access to an unusual bundle: a rocket manufacturer, a global satellite internet network and a rapidly evolving A.I. platform (xAI), which includes chatbot Grok and the social platform X. SpaceX generated about $15–$16 billion in revenue in 2025, with Starlink accounting for most of it, according to reports. How Musk presents this complex mix to the public markets and manages the tension between innovation and profitability will likely define the success of SpaceX’s market debut.