Landing on Nasdaq on June 12th! What are the highlights of SpaceX's vision of "space + AI" impacting the largest IPO in history?

Elon Musk's SpaceX is scheduled to go public on Nasdaq on June 12th, under the stock code "SPCX". This IPO is expected to be the largest in history, aiming to raise $75 billion, which is more than double the previous record. This IPO will be a major event for the capital market, allowing investors to participate in Musk's grand vision of creating a space and AI conglomerate. Musk has put forward a series of expansion plans, including building data centers in space, which are highly imaginative but require large investments, come with high risks, and most projects may take years to generate profits. Key points of SpaceX's IPO: SpaceX's valuation is estimated at $1.77 trillion, with analysts raising concerns According to documents submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), SpaceX plans to issue around 5.556 billion shares at a price of $135 per share. At this price, SpaceX's market value would be close to $1.77 trillion. It is reported that SpaceX will price the IPO using a fixed issuance price method, rather than the common practice in the U.S. IPO market of first announcing a price range and then seeking inquiries through roadshows, which is rare in the U.S. market and more common in the Asian and European markets. SpaceX plans to raise $75 billion through the IPO, breaking the record set by Saudi Aramco in 2019 with $29.4 billion. The biggest question is whether such a high valuation can hold its ground in the secondary market. Analysts typically calculate a company's value based on factors such as future earnings, growth potential, industry competition, and profit margins, but valuing a company's price has no unified standard. Especially in a bull market environment, investors tend to detach from the fundamentals and are willing to pay a high premium for individual stocks. Some investors believe that SpaceX's space business has vast prospects, enough to support a valuation far exceeding the figures in current financial reports. However, SpaceX's xAI business faces serious challenges, which may weaken the overall investment attractiveness of the company. Analysts have been repeatedly pouring cold water on SpaceX before its IPO. Morningstar bluntly stated that SpaceX's target valuation is too high, with a realistic valuation possibly being less than half of the target valuation. Morningstar analyst Nicolas Owens' discounted cash flow model predicts that SpaceX's valuation is only $780 billion, with the value of SpaceX's space launch and Starlink internet business at around $611 billion, while the value of the AI business is only around $170 billion. In simple terms, investors should not buy SpaceX stock at the IPO price. PitchBook, a financial data company focusing on private equity and venture capital, believes that SpaceX's reasonable valuation is $1.5 trillion, with the rest being the premium for the space, AI narrative, and the "Musk halo". Senior research analyst Franco Granda values Starlink at around $1.2 trillion and the launch and other businesses at around $300 billion, finding the additional narrative premium somewhat overly optimistic or even absurd. Behind the fundraising of SpaceX's IPO: xAI burns $1 billion per month While SpaceX has achieved considerable cash flow through its Starlink satellite broadband business, the company still needs more funds to achieve its ambitious goals. SpaceX has stated that the funds raised from the IPO will be used to expand the company's AI computing infrastructure, improve space infrastructure and rocket performance, and expand the satellite constellation, among other things. SpaceX could have continued to raise funds in the private market rather than going public. However, according to sources, due to the acquisition of xAI in February this year, the company's funding needs seemed to have increased significantly. xAI consumes about $1 billion in cash per month, including costs for computing infrastructure, including training AI models. The IPO documents show that SpaceX's AI division (including xAI) had an operating loss of $6.4 billion last year, and nearly $2.5 billion in the first three months of 2026. However, SpaceX has just reached an agreement whereby Anthropic PBC will pay $1.25 billion per month to purchase AI computing power until May 2029. In addition, as a public company, SpaceX can raise funds more widely in the market, helping its AI business to complete funding reserves ahead of competing companies like OpenAI and Anthropic before their IPOs. It is reported that OpenAI and Anthropic are intending to go public this year, with both aiming at fundraising scales of several hundred billion dollars. Dan Ives, director of global technology research at Wedbush Securities, said SpaceX's IPO will be a "watershed event," breaking records and setting the tone for subsequent IPOs of companies like OpenAI and Anthropic PBC. The veteran stock analyst said on Wednesday, "Get your popcorn ready: SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic, the next few months are going to be very exciting." Expansive business spectrum, SpaceX transforms into an industry giant SpaceX has evolved from a challenger in the aerospace industry to a giant holding a massive amount of U.S. government orders, supporting the U.S. aerospace system. In addition to its rocket launch and Starlink businesses, SpaceX now also owns xAI, the developer of Grok Chat, Siasun Robot & Automation, and the social platform X (formerly Twitter). After acquiring xAI, SpaceX has increasingly focused on artificial intelligence. The prospectus reveals that SpaceX's overall addressable market size (TAM) amounts to $28.5 trillion, with the AI business corresponding to $26.5 trillion. Wall Street investment banks and investors actively prepare for the IPO The unprecedented size of this IPO has attracted numerous investment bankers to participate. Leading the underwriting team are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase, with a total of 23 investment banks forming the underwriting consortium. The underwriting investment banks will accept subscription orders from institutional investors. At the same time, individual investors can also place orders through brokerage firms. Millions of regular investors using popular trading platforms like Robinhood Markets, SoFi Technologies, and E*Trade, a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, will be able to place orders directly through these platforms. The day before the stock starts trading, SpaceX and the banks will finalize the final offering price and total volume. The pricing process needs to balance the demands of existing shareholders and new investors - existing shareholders do not want too many shares to be issued and dilute their equity, while new investors are hoping to get a stake and make a profit from the IPO. What risks lie behind the IPO? For SpaceX, the downside of the IPO is that the company must disclose financial data every quarter and be subject to scrutiny by Wall Street analysts and public investors. In addition, if the stock price fluctuates dramatically or drops significantly due to negative news, its plans may be affected. How does the xAI deal impact SpaceX's IPO? Not everyone is pleased with SpaceX's acquisition of xAI before going public, as xAI continues to burn a significant amount of money, which affects the valuation of high-quality assets like Starlink. Investors who originally bet on the space race will be forced to allocate AI assets. For investors who are bearish on the AI industry, they will suddenly be exposed to high-risk positions. If SpaceX is seen as an unwieldy conglomerate, its market value may be lower than expected. In addition, SpaceX faces fierce competition in the field of artificial intelligence. OpenAI is reportedly planning to go public later this year, and Anthropic Games may follow suit. The valuations of these two companies have already skyrocketed to several hundred billion dollars before their IPOs, with the potential to surpass the $1 trillion mark after listing. How will the IPO affect Musk's control over SpaceX? Musk has absolute control over SpaceX because he holds most of the company's Class B shares, which give the holder 10 votes per share. Regulatory documents submitted by SpaceX show that Musk, the co-founder of Tesla and the world's richest man, will have about 82% of the voting rights after going public. In response, the nonprofit organization Alliance to Protect Shareholder Value issued a statement criticizing SpaceX's governance policies for "attempting to severely weaken shareholder protection in a novel and reckless manner while giving the SpaceX leadership nearly all administrative power." Investors who are attracted by SpaceX's potential and Musk's track record may not be concerned about this, but if the company's operations go awry, high concentrated ownership may hinder investors from pushing for management change. SpaceX has indicated that it plans to reserve up to 5% of shares for certain employees and executives in the IPO. Furthermore, SpaceX's IPO is likely to make members of the Trump administration richer. According to the most recent financial disclosure documents of these officials, from special envoy to the president Kurt Volker to Small Business Administration director Kelly Loeffler, ten officials have disclosed financial interests in SpaceX or xAI. The disclosure documents show that these federal officials collectively hold SpaceX or xAI stocks worth at least $9.9 million and up to $43.8 million. How will Musk tell the story to investors? SpaceX's core idea is that if it can significantly increase computing power through space data centers, it will become a leading company in the field of artificial intelligence. However, convincing investors may prove difficult as Musk is rebuilding the company's AI business from scratch. However, the company already holds a dominant position in the commercial space industry with huge growth potential, and has close ties to industries such as defense and telecommunications. The global broadband business Starlink provides stable cash flow, while the giant Starship project continues to consolidate the leading position in the rocket launch business. Musk's reputation for nearly 30-fold growth in Tesla's ten-year tenure, and the lucrative early shareholder returns, attract a large number of loyal fans to invest, making it the most compelling publicity chip for this IPO.