Quick overview

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SpaceX disclosed billions in losses and a super-voting share plan that would allow Elon Musk to maintain control over the company when it filed for what is expected to be the biggest initial public offering ever.

According to a filing made on Wednesday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the rocket, satellite, and artificial intelligence behemoth is offering the billionaire the ability to outvote anyone else and promising him enormous rewards, including up to 1 billion shares, if he succeeds.

A human settlement on Mars with at least a million people is one of the objectives Musk, 54, would need to achieve, according to the filing.

SpaceX must first make the dream of data centers in space a reality, as part of what it claims is the largest total addressable market in history. Investors must decide whether Musk’s ambitions for SpaceX are worth up to $2 trillion, given the company’s seemingly insignificant financial disclosures.

If Musk’s plan for an unprecedented IPO succeeds, it will revolutionize both public and private markets. Concerns about whether private companies with few financial disclosures and mostly illiquid shares are reaching unjustified valuations in venture capital-led funding rounds would be allayed by a successful listing and subsequent increase in share price. The listing, which aims to raise to $75 billion, reveals a rapidly expanding and cash-burning business.

Investors must accept that they won’t be able to fire Musk in the event of a failure and have faith that SpaceX can secure a sizable portion of its alleged market opportunity to support Musk’s vision. According to SpaceX’s filing, the company has a maturity that is essentially unheard of for a pre-IPO. SpaceX’s total revenue increased from $14 billion to $18.7 billion in 2025. The business went from making $791 million in profit in 2024 to losing money