SpaceX is racing toward what could be the largest stock market debut in history, testing how much investors are willing to pay for a company that straddles rockets, satellite internet and ambitious AI infrastructure.

In early June, regulatory filings and media reports revealed that SpaceX plans to raise about $75 billion in its initial public offering, selling roughly 555.6 million shares at $135 each for a valuation near $1.75–$1.78 trillion.¹²³ That would eclipse the current global IPO record set by Saudi Aramco and vault SpaceX into the ranks of the largest U.S. public companies, even above Tesla’s market capitalization at recent levels.⁴

Building the case: rockets, Starlink and AI

SpaceX’s S-1 filing and subsequent roadshow underline how far the company has come from its early 2000s startup days. It began as a launch provider but now generates most revenue from Starlink, its global satellite internet network.¹ CFO Bret Johnsen’s 17‑minute roadshow presentation highlights milestones such as being the first private firm to dock with the ISS and to propulsively land an orbital-class rocket, while stressing that “rocket reuse” has slashed launch costs and boosted cadence.⁵

The company pitches Starlink—now with 10.3 million users and triple‑digit annual growth—as a system that can “deliver in many areas and in many cases where terrestrials just can't.”⁵ SpaceX also folded in Elon Musk’s AI venture xAI, arguing it now owns “the full value chain” from launch to orbital data centers, and touting orbital AI compute despite industry skepticism about the feasibility of space-based data centers.⁵ Axios notes that SpaceX is betting on an AI total addressable market it pegs at $26.5 trillion—an eye‑popping figure analysts say is “impossible to verify.”¹

Retail investors pulled into orbit

In a major break from typical mega-IPOs, SpaceX and its banking partners are carving out an unusually large slice of the offering for individual investors. The Financial Times reports that “up to a quarter of the rocket builder’s $75bn float will be set aside for individual investors,” framing it as a record allocation for retail buyers.⁶ Separately, another FT report says the company is pitching institutions on a raise of up to $86 billion at a $1.78 trillion valuation.³

Brokerages are adjusting to this broader access. One widely shared post highlighted that Fidelity “is making the SpaceX IPO available to any customer with a retail brokerage account with $2,000 or more,” noting that SpaceX has “decided to reserve a much higher percentage of the offering (up to 30%).”¹ Elon Musk amplified that message on X, underscoring the company’s push to include smaller investors.

Local fallout: LA’s potential “Google moment”

Beyond Wall Street, Southern California is bracing for a different kind of impact. SpaceX’s long‑awaited IPO “will dwarf Google’s,” potentially turning paper equity into cash for “not hundreds, but thousands of current and former employees” around its Hawthorne, California hub, Business Insider reports.⁷ One local developer called it “LA’s Google moment,” comparing the prospective wealth wave to the 2004 Google IPO that minted hundreds of millionaires.⁷

Real estate agents expect a surge in high‑end demand in the South Bay area once IPO lock‑ups expire, though UCLA’s Paul Habibi predicts a “real but diffuse effect” rather than a citywide boom.⁷ Still, with SpaceX’s valuation expected around $1.75 trillion, local stakeholders say “this has been two decades in the making.”⁷

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