Elon Musk’s SpaceX is preparing for a blockbuster initial public offering in 2026, aiming to raise more than $25 billion and potentially pushing its valuation past $1 trillion, a person familiar with the discussions told Reuters.
The company has begun early talks with banks to launch the offering around June or July 2026, the source said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information. If it proceeds, the listing would be among the largest global IPOs ever.
The push toward a public listing comes amid a rebound in the US IPO market after years of stagnation. Wall Street executives expect the renewed momentum to carry into 2026, fueled by a pipeline of high-profile companies eyeing market debuts.
Starlink drives the momentum
The rapid expansion of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet business—including plans for direct-to-mobile service—and progress in its Starship program for future moon and Mars missions have boosted investor appetite.
"SpaceX represents one of the most exciting opportunities in the global IPO market and has been on the dream-list of several investors for years," Samuel Kerr, head of equity capital markets at Mergermarket told Reuters.
He added that space technology is viewed as "a key frontier in both defense, satellite proliferation and in tech infrastructure in general, the growth of orbital data centers."
A blockbuster in waiting
A SpaceX IPO could encourage other major startups, many of which have delayed public listings while raising vast private capital—to finally test public markets.
SpaceX is the world’s second most valuable private startup after OpenAI, per Crunchbase. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are also reported to be exploring 2026 IPOs.
“If all these deals come through the US IPO market will experience a genuine revival, the green shoots of which have already been seen this year,” Kerr told Reuters.
The potential listing follows reports of a new secondary share sale valuing SpaceX at $800 billion, though Musk called that report “inaccurate.” At present, only Saudi Aramco has surpassed a $1 trillion valuation at IPO, debuting in 2019 at $1.7 trillion.
According to Bloomberg, funds raised through the SpaceX listing would be used to build space-based data centers and procure the chips needed to power them.
However, analysts say investors may question Musk’s capacity to helm multiple publicly listed giants simultaneously. "SpaceX could be one of the most divisive stocks to join the market in years," Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell told Reuters.
"If SpaceX did float, expect growing pressure on Musk to commit to only one of his listed entities – Tesla or SpaceX. It's hard to see how one individual could run two $1 trillion+ companies at the same time," Dan added.
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