The SpaceX IPO is likely to raise between $50 billion and $75 billion, making it potentially the largest IPO in history.
How Elon Musk Engineered the World’s Biggest I.P.O.
The SpaceX IPO could create the world's first trillionaire, force your retirement fund to buy in automatically, and give Elon Musk even more unchecked power — all at a trillion-dollar valuation that doesn't yet add up.
Jun 2, 2026
30:37
Difficulty: Intermediate
Played
The Daily
How Elon Musk Engineered the World’s Biggest I.P.O.
The SpaceX IPO could create the world's first trillionaire, force your retirement fund to buy in automatically, and give Elon Musk even more unchecked power — all at a trillion-dollar valuation that doesn't yet add up.
Jun 2, 2026
30:37
Difficulty: Intermediate
Played
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This episode
Cast
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Founder and CEO of SpaceX whose personal brand, voting control, and track record are central to the IPO's appeal and its risks.
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The central subject of the episode — a rocket and satellite company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, preparing for what could be the largest IPO in history.
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Musk's social media platform, bought for $44 billion and later marked down to $10 billion before being merged into xAI, cited as a cautionary tale about Musk's risk profile.
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Musk's electric car company cited as his most successful public company investment — a $1,000 IPO investment would be worth roughly $250,000 today.
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Elon Musk's AI company, merged with SpaceX earlier in 2025, which dramatically increased capital expenditures and caused the company's overall loss.
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AI company that filed to go public the same week as SpaceX, competing for the same pool of investor capital.
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AI company also preparing to go public, competing with SpaceX for investor dollars in the AI and tech space.
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Cited as an example of a retail brokerage through which mom and pop investors can purchase SpaceX shares during the IPO.
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Cited as a cautionary example of an IPO where the stock initially fell before eventually recovering and growing many times over.
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Mentioned as an example of the large institutional banks that traditionally dominate IPO share allocation.
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Mentioned as an example of a large bank that typically receives the bulk of IPO share allocations, in contrast to SpaceX's retail-heavy approach.
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Cited by Michael Barbaro as an example of a trillion-dollar company that justifies its valuation through massive profitability, unlike SpaceX.
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Cited as an example of a retail brokerage platform through which everyday investors can access the SpaceX IPO.
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SpaceX's satellite internet service with 10 million users and $4.4 billion in profit, described as the company's crown jewel.
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A major stock market index that is relaxing its standard 90-day cooling-off rule to allow SpaceX to enter after just 15 days of trading, forcing index funds to buy SpaceX shares.
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SpaceX's next-generation rocket intended to carry humans to Mars, cited as a major capital expenditure driver.
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Elon Musk's stated ultimate goal for SpaceX — sending humans to Mars and building a self-sustaining civilization — used to justify the company's ambitious valuation.
This episode
Claims & Sources
6 / 16 cited (38%)
Factual claims made this episode, and whether a source was named.
The SpaceX IPO is expected to value the company at more than $1.25 trillion.
Approximately 30% of SpaceX IPO shares are expected to be allocated to retail investors, compared to the typical 5–10%.
After the SpaceX IPO, the company will be added to the Nasdaq 100 after just 15 days of trading instead of the standard three-month cooling-off period.
Starlink has approximately 10 million users.
Starlink generated approximately $4.4 billion in profit last year.
SpaceX is estimated to carry more than 85% of all mass launched into orbit from Earth.
SpaceX's capital expenditures doubled to $20.7 billion in 2024.
SpaceX recorded a $4.3 billion loss across its entire business in 2025.
SpaceX's S-1 filing claims a total addressable market of $28.5 trillion, which Ryan Mac noted is close to the entire US GDP.
A $1,000 investment in Tesla at its IPO would be worth approximately $250,000 today.
Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, and investors later marked its value down to as low as $10 billion.
Elon Musk holds approximately 85% of voting control in SpaceX through supervoting shares that carry 10 votes per share.
Elon Musk's net worth currently fluctuates between $600 billion and $800 billion.
SpaceX was founded in 2002 and has been a private company for more than 23 years, raising money from venture capitalists and private equity.
The SpaceX S-1 filing document is 277 pages long.
TL;DR
The SpaceX IPO — likely the largest ever at $50–75B raised and a $1.25T valuation — is about to make every American a SpaceX investor whether they want to be or not, thanks to index fund rule changes. Ryan Mac warns that despite Starlink's $4.4B profit, AI costs have pushed SpaceX to a $4.3B net loss, the $28.5T TAM is mostly hype, and Musk's 85% voting control leaves shareholders with almost no accountability levers.
#SpaceX IPO
#Elon Musk accountability
#retail investor access
#Nasdaq 100 rule change
#supervoting shares
#AI data centers in space
#Starlink profitability
#xAI merger
#trillionaire wealth
#index fund investing
#public market debut
#corporate governance
#SpaceX
#IPO
#Elon Musk
#Starlink
#xAI
#retail investors
#Nasdaq 100
#index funds
#trillionaire
#S-1
#space economy
#AI data centers
#Tesla
#accountability
2 minute taster
15 Days vs. 3 Months: How SpaceX Is Changing the Index Fund Rulebook
Standard procedure requires a company to trade for 90 days before entering the Nasdaq 100. SpaceX gets in after 15. That forces every index fund tracking the Nasdaq 100 to buy SpaceX shares — whether they want to or not.
Starlink Is Printing Money — But AI Is Burning It All
Starlink generated $4.4 billion in profit last year and SpaceX handles 85%+ of all mass launched to orbit. But the xAI merger doubled capital expenditures to $20.7 billion, turning the entire company to a $4.3 billion loss in 2025.
Why Your Retirement Fund May Buy SpaceX Whether You Like It or Not
If you hold an index fund tied to the Nasdaq 100, you're about to become a SpaceX investor. The index is fast-tracking SpaceX entry to just 15 days post-IPO — forcing passive funds to buy in. There is no opt-out.
Look closer
Business reporter Ryan Mac joins host Michael Barbaro to break down the impending SpaceX IPO — likely the largest in history — exploring the financials, the expanded retail investor access, the index fund rule changes, Elon Musk's track record, and the accountability risks for everyday investors.
Chapter list
- IPO (Initial Public Offering)
- The first time a private company sells its shares to the general public on a stock exchange, allowing it to raise capital from public investors.
- S-1
- A registration document that a company must file with the SEC before going public, disclosing its financial health, business model, and risk factors.
- Retail Investors
- Everyday individual investors (also called 'mom and pop' investors) who buy and sell securities through brokerage accounts like Charles Schwab or Robinhood.
- Index Fund
- A type of investment fund designed to mirror the performance of a specific market index, such as the Nasdaq 100, by holding the same stocks in the same proportions.
- Nasdaq 100
- A stock market index comprising 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange; many retirement and index funds track it.
- Supervoting Shares
- A class of shares that carry more votes per share than ordinary shares, allowing the holder (e.g., Elon Musk) to maintain outsized control over company decisions.
- Total Addressable Market (TAM)
- The total revenue opportunity available if a company were to achieve 100% market share in its target market — used by companies to project future growth potential.
- Capital Expenditures (CapEx)
- Funds a company spends on acquiring, upgrading, or maintaining physical assets like buildings, technology, or equipment — in SpaceX's case, rockets and AI infrastructure.
- Supermajority
- A level of voting control — typically more than two-thirds — that gives one party near-unchallenged power to pass or block decisions in a company.
- FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
- In finance, the anxiety that investors or institutions feel about missing gains from a major opportunity, which can drive them to relax standards or rules to participate.
