SpaceX has lifted the veil on plans for potentially the world’s first initial public offering (IPO) valued at more than US$1 trillion (A$1.39 trillion).
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 20 May, the company founded by billionaire Elon Musk in 2002 confirmed reports it was preparing to list on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker “SPCX” as early as mid-June.
The filing did not place a value on the aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company, but media reports have suggested it could be worth up to $1.75 trillion (A$2.4 trillion) in what would be the largest IPO in history.
“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 said in its filing.
The listing could pave the way for more huge IPOs in the coming months, including technology giants OpenAI and Anthropic.
SpaceX reported a loss of $2.6 billion from operations on $18.7 billion of revenue last year due to heavy investment.
The company, which has extensive contracts with the United States government, confidentially filed for an IPO last month, allowing for a regulatory review period before the details became public on Wednesday.
The IPO would put Musk, the world’s richest person with a net worth estimated to be $200 billion to $250 billion, in a position to become the first trillionaire with his 40-45% stake in SpaceX valued at more than $700 billion.
The IPO could exceed that of record holder Saudi Aramco, the oil company that went public seven years ago at a value of $1.7 trillion.
SpaceX merged this year with Musk's artificial intelligence startup x.ai in a deal that valued the rocket company at $1 trillion and the developer of the Grok chatbot at $250 billion.
Most of SpaceX’s revenue is from its Starlink satellite internet division.
Musk will retain control of the company under a dual-class share structure that gives him 85% of the votes and governance provisions that limit shareholder rights and concentrate authority at the top.
SpaceX said it was targeting a total addressable market of $28.5 trillion, with much of that tied to AI-related services, including ambitious plans to develop orbital data centres and high-capacity computing systems.
