While Elon Musk is rejoicing at the top of the world’s richest billionaires list, his SpaceX is now close to attaining the title of the most valuable private company, as per a New York Times report.

A newly reported deal will not only help boost the satellite and rocket-making agency’s valuation to $800 billion, but also further its founding tech titan’s longtime rivalry with Sam Altman. Currently, OpenAI is valued at around $500 billion, making it the present-day most valuable private company.

New deal responsible for SpaceX’s $800 billion valuation boost explained

According to a letter obtained by NYT, SpaceX’s chief financial officer Bret Johnson penned all about certain company operations moving forward. He told employees therein that the aerospace firm was planning to buy $2.56 billion of shares from its employees at $421 a share, accounting for a 2x surge to its previous internal share price.

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In addition to announcing that the company would be buying shares from employees, Johnsen also revealed in the same letter that SpaceX was potentially going public next year. Something that Musk also confirmed on his social media platform X. “Whether it actually happens, when it happens, and at what valuation are still highly uncertain, but the thinking is that if we execute brilliantly and the markets cooperate, a public offering could raise a significant amount of capital,” he told them, as detailed by the NYT.

With the potential $800 billion valuation, SpaceX is already on path to beating OpenAI to become the most valuable private company in the world. On top of that, the public offering could also result in making it one of the largest public listings.

Elon Musk on SpaceX going public

Despite having criticised the public market and his prior 2018 threat to take his other company, Tesla, private, Elon Musk has already hinted at SpaceX going public soon. Just earlier this week, he responded to initial reports related to the matter on social media.

In a December 10 article, news outlet Ars Technica highlighted the claims, suggesting that the company could make good use of cash influx from a public offering. It noted that the same could help the company double on its focus on bringing AI and data centres to space. Musk ultimately responded to the report, commenting “accurate” on X.

Before it all, Bloomberg came out with an article, citing unnamed sources, about how SpaceX was possibly eyeing an initial public offering (IPO) in mid to late 2026. The report further indicated that the move was expected to bring in more than $30 billion, helping the company to achieve a projected value of $1.5 trillion.

NYT’s latest article on the issue aligns with an initial December 5 Wall Street Journal report, which said that a secondary share sale would value the company at $800 billion. Reuters, on the other hand, pushed a report citing an unnamed source, who claimed that SpaceX was planning to raise over $25 billion.

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Although Musk responded positively to speculative reports about SpaceX going public, he branded these other early December headlines as not factual.

“SpaceX has been cash flow positive for many years and does periodic stock buybacks twice a year to provide liquidity for employees and investors,” he wrote online. “Valuation increments are a function of progress with Starship and Starlink and securing global direct-to-cell spectrum that greatly increases our addressable market.”

Musk’s SpaceX has been private since its inception in 2022. With the company owning and operating Starlink, it is through this internet service that it generates most of its profits. But with SpaceX working on its new-generation launch system, Starship, in Texas, which is being designed with the aim to achieve Musk’s Mars Mission, there’s no doubt in mind that the company could use more funds.

According to the SpaceX website, this historic mission seeks to send the first set of human explorers to the Red Planet so that the groundwork for permanent presence on its surface can be laid. “Starship cargo flights to the Martian surface for research, development, and exploratory missions start in 2030, at a rate of $100 million per metric ton,” the website states.