Breaking years of financial opacity around Elon Musk’s privately held rocket and satellite company, SpaceX has finally disclosed how its multifaceted businesses have performed in its historic IPO filing on Wednesday (US time).
The company, which operates satellite internet service Starlink and is linked to AI firm xAI unveiled its plans to go public in the US for the first time.
SpaceX IPO filing reveals financial figures behind Elon Musk-led company
In a May 20 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), SpaceX unveiled an initial public offering expected to be the largest in Wall Street history, with the company targeting a valuation of $1.75 trillion. According to Reuters, it is likely to debut as early as June 12 under the ticker SPCX, raising between $50 billion and $75 billion, the move could push Musk’s net worth into trillionaire territory.
“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 277-page prospectus.
The filing confirmed that Space Exploration Technologies Corp brought in $18.7 billion in revenue in 2025, a 33% year-on-year increase. First-quarter 2026 revenue rose to $4.7 billion from $4.1 billion in the same period a year earlier.
However, the company recorded a $4.3 billion net loss in Q1 2026, nearly matching its full-year 2025 loss of $4.9 billion. Capital expenditure almost doubled to $20.7 billion last year, driven by heavy investment in AI development, with $4.2 billion directed at Starlink and $3.8 billion at other space ventures. In Q1 2026, total expenditure reached $10.1 billion, of which $7.7 billion went to AI.
SpaceX’s balance sheet shows $102 billion in assets, including rockets and equipment, against $60.6 billion in debt. The company also flagged more than $500 million in expected legal costs, citing “multiple lawsuits,” including recent allegations that xAI’s chatbot Grok generated sexualised deepfakes of women and children.
Elon Musk’s control over SpaceX laid bare
Musk owns approximately 50% of SpaceX’s outstanding shares and controls more than 85% of shareholder votes, according to the New York Times. His stake in the company — currently valued at over $1 trillion — could be worth upwards of $600 billion.
The filing disclosed that Musk has drawn an annual salary of $54,080 since 2019. He is also eligible for compensation across 15 tranches of 66,666,665 shares each, contingent on SpaceX hitting specific market capitalisation milestones and establishing a permanent human colony on Mars with at least one million inhabitants.
SpaceX’s business plan
Founded in 2002 and now merged with xAI, SpaceX has outlined plans to build AI data centres in orbit, develop lunar colonies, and put humans on Mars. It is also preparing another test launch of its Starship rocket — the largest ever built.
The company claims the “largest actionable total addressable market in human history” at $28.5 trillion, comprising a $26.5 trillion AI opportunity, a $1.6 trillion Starlink market, and $370 billion in space-enabled solutions.
Starlink remains SpaceX’s primary revenue driver, with 10.3 million subscribers as of end-March and operating income of approximately $4.4 billion, more than double the prior year.
The IPO filing came days after a California jury unanimously rejected Musk’s $150 billion lawsuit against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Musk had alleged Altman breached a non-profit contract by converting OpenAI into a for-profit entity after Musk donated $38 million in its early days. The jury found Musk had waited too long to bring the claim.