Overview
- Chief financial officer Bret Johnsen told employees the company authorized a tender at $421 a share, allowing up to $2.56 billion in purchases and implying an ~$800 billion valuation, while cautioning an IPO remains highly uncertain.
- People familiar told Bloomberg the team is discussing a mid‑to‑late 2026 listing that could raise significantly more than $30 billion at around a $1.5 trillion valuation, with timing that could slip to 2027 depending on conditions.
- Johnsen said potential IPO proceeds would target ramping Starship to a high flight rate, deploying orbital AI/data centers, building a lunar base and funding uncrewed and crewed Mars missions.
- Elon Musk has publicly promoted orbital AI compute using satellites and called reporting that linked those plans to an IPO 'accurate.'
- The new valuation would make SpaceX the most valuable private company, and Bloomberg noted Alphabet could record another paper gain on its SpaceX stake as investors weigh Starlink growth against Musk’s Mars ambitions.