Science Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow The SpaceX IPO is a trillion-dollar gamble on the future of space SpaceX’s relationship with Musk’s Boring Company is much more quaint in comparison. The tunneling venture has paid about $1.2 million in office leases to SpaceX. And SpaceX spent about $1 million for the Boring Company to dig a tunnel at its headquarters in Bastrop, Texas. SpaceX was valued at $1.25 trillion earlier this year after merging with xAI, Musk’s AI company that also owns X, formerly Twitter. The tie-up means investors will be buying in at a historically high price — but Musk combined the companies at great cost to himself, and also SpaceX. The filing showed that the rocket company directed about 60 percent of its capital spending in 2025 toward xAI, or about $20 billion. But as TechCrunch notes, xAI lost billions of dollars last year on revenue that grew by only 22 percent year over year. When going public, companies are required to list their risk factors, under the assumption that investors should know about all the skeletons in the closet before putting their money down. For SpaceX, the biggest risk is also the biggest asset: Elon Musk. For SpaceX, the biggest risk is also the biggest asset: Elon Musk. While any company, especially one as complex as SpaceX, would be expected to include a long list of risk factors in its S-1, SpaceX’s is unique in that it includes its own CEO. The filing explicitly states that SpaceX is “highly dependent on the continued services of Mr. Musk,” noting that his leadership, vision, and technical expertise are critical to the company’s future. Like other Musk-owned companies, SpaceX acknowledges that Musk isn’t always 100 percent focused on SpaceX. And it admits that Musk’s intersecting businesses may end up cannibalizing each other in some way. Conflicts could arise. And if they do, Musk is not “restricted” from doing something that directly competes with his other companies, including SpaceX. Conflicts of interest could arise in the future between us, on the one hand, and Mr. Musk and entities owned by or affiliated with him, on the other hand, concerning among other things, business transactions, potential competitive business activities or other opportunities…. Furthermore, Mr. Musk and other businesses owned by or affiliated with him may now, or in the future, directly or indirectly, compete with us for investment or business opportunities. The S-1 goes on to enumerate the ways in which Musk’s extensive entanglements could result in financial loss for SpaceX. The company is completely dependent on his leadership, and yet could also incur big losses as a result of said leadership. (See: Tesla in 2025.) For instance, Mr. Musk currently serves as Technoking and Chief Executive Officer of Tesla and is involved in other emerging technology ventures, including Neuralink and The Boring Company. Mr. Musk has also previously served as Senior Advisor to the President of the United States. Any such loss or reduced involvement in our business could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and future prospects. The pull between risk and reward is a running theme throughout the filing. We, Mr. Musk, and other companies Mr. Musk is affiliated with frequently receive an immense amount of media attention. The actions and statements of Mr. Musk and his affiliated ventures, whether or not directly relating to us, may draw significant public attention and scrutiny to us and could potentially have a positive or negative impact on our business, relationships with customers and regulators, or stock price. These are not statements you find in your average S-1 filing, but SpaceX is not your typical IPO. Musk stands to make billions if SpaceX establishes a “permanent” colony on Mars with “at least” a million inhabitants. He’s also a shit magnet that could do serious damage to SpaceX’s reputation. Musk’s companies do business with and are deeply entangled with each other in ways laid bear by the filing. They buy each others stuff, compete with each other for RAM, AI chips, and other ultra valuable components that are increasingly in short supply. Occasionally, his shareholders push back. In 2024, several Tesla shareholders sued Musk over claims he was knowingly diverting talent and resources away from the company and directing it toward, xAI. That lawsuit is still pending. Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates. Andrew J. Hawkins