SpaceX is seeking a new $800 billion valuation in a secondary share sale, which would make Elon Musk's enterprise the most valuable private company in the US—overtaking OpenAI. The potential price tag is double what SpaceX was valued at for a share sale in October. Executives said the company is considering an initial public offering in 2026, the Wall Street Journal reports. Musk told shareholders last month that he prefers his companies not be publicly traded, saying they can be "very difficult to operate effectively," per CNBC. He then conceded that "maybe at some point, SpaceX should become a public company despite all the downsides."
Any IPO would include Starlink, the internet service with more than 8 million global customers, though the company had said it might spin off that business. Many investors credit Starlink as a major force behind the 25-year-old company's valuation, per the Journal. SpaceX is also investing heavily in its Starship rocket, which is slated for missions including a NASA moon landing. Musk has forecast revenue of about $15.5 billion for the year, though it's not clear that SpaceX can hit the $800 billion value.