SpaceX Could Be Heading To Wall Street Soon

There are some massive numbers doing the rounds in the world of business right now. Experts are whispering that if Elon Musk-owned SpaceX decides to go public, it could be valued at a staggering $1.5 trillion. If this valuation holds up, SpaceX would overshadow the listing-day values of giants like Apple and Meta. It’s actually enough money to account for roughly one-third of every single publicly listed company in India combined.

It seems impossible, but the math actually works. SpaceX is already valued at $800 billion privately. They handle 60% of the world's cargo to space and launch more than entire nations do. On top of that, Starlink is a giant; it has millions of users and is the biggest satellite system ever made. If you value Starlink separately and add it to the rocket business, that $1.5 trillion price tag starts to look surprisingly realistic.

SpaceX has stayed privately held ever since Elon Musk launched the company back in 2002. But over the past week, talk has been growing that the rocket maker could finally head to the stock market. If that happens, investors may get their first chance to own a piece of SpaceX, with the listing reportedly aimed at sometime in the middle or later part of 2026. The move could be massive, with estimates suggesting it might pull in $30 billion or even more.

Elon Musk is still very much in the driver’s seat at SpaceX. Despite years of heavy funding from major investors like Alphabet and Founders Fund, he remains the largest shareholder, with about 44% ownership as of 2022. Musk has also dropped a few hints on X about SpaceX eventually hitting the public markets. That said, he’s never been a big fan of being listed. He’s often criticised how public markets work and famously floated the idea of taking Tesla private back in 2018, after repeated clashes with short sellers and Wall Street analysts. That thinking now looks to be changing. After locking in a huge pay deal at Tesla, Musk seems more willing to bring in new money for SpaceX. In a recent letter, CFO Bret Johnsen said an IPO could help the company unlock new funding options for the future.

A Wall Street debut for SpaceX would skyrocket Elon Musk's fortune even higher. But it would come with a trade-off. A stock market listing means tougher questions, public disclosures, and constant scrutiny of how the company operates, the kind of attention Musk has often clashed with during his years at Tesla.