According to informed sources, as SpaceX, the space exploration and artificial intelligence company founded and led by world's richest person and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, approaches a public listing, it is currently seeking a valuation of at least $1.8 trillion for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S. stock market. In contrast, multiple media reports in April indicated that Musk had informed investment banks of a target valuation exceeding $2 trillion. Information from sources suggests that following active consultations with advisors and investors, SpaceX's valuation target is in a phase of downward adjustment. Sources indicate that specific details such as fundraising size and valuation related to the IPO are typically adjusted based on stakeholder feedback before pricing. Sources previously stated that SpaceX is seeking to raise up to $75 billion, which would position it as the largest IPO in global stock market history, surpassing the 2019 IPO of oil and gas giant Saudi Aramco. The grand narrative presented to investors in SpaceX's IPO filing on May 20th, focusing on AI applications and large-scale AI data centers in space, illustrates the company's evolving growth positioning: transitioning from a space exploration company focused on manufacturing reusable rockets and operating a long-term profitable satellite internet business, to a super-technology giant concentrating on enterprise-level AI services and AI computing infrastructure, with ambitions to build orbital data centers and conquer a total addressable market with a potential size of $28.5 trillion, comparable to the U.S. GDP. Sources indicate that SpaceX is expected to commence formal marketing for its IPO as early as June 4th, with pricing anticipated as soon as June 11th. However, sources added that the transaction timeline could be delayed by several days. Sources stated that related discussions and deliberations are ongoing, and the company and its Wall Street financial advisors may decide whether to further increase the target valuation based on investor feedback during the marketing period. A spokesperson for SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase will jointly lead the IPO alongside 18 other major commercial banks. The company, formally named Space Exploration Technologies Corp., is expected to debut on the Nasdaq and Nasdaq Texas exchanges under the ticker symbol "SPCX." The valuation has cooled slightly, but Musk's space AI ambitions remain undiminished. Some analysts suggest that if SpaceX has indeed modestly lowered its valuation as reported, the core rationale stems not from the AI and commercial space narrative, but from public market investors demanding discounts during price discovery for core business operating losses, massive capital expenditures, uncertainties in AI application businesses, and execution risks. The IPO filing shows SpaceX's 2025 revenue was approximately $18.7 billion, implying year-over-year growth of about 33%, primarily driven by Starlink, which contributed roughly $11.387 billion; however, it also disclosed a net loss of approximately $4.9 billion. This indicates the market cannot price the company solely as the "world's strongest commercial space company" but must also discount it as a "capital-intensive, R&D-heavy, AI-investing platform company." SpaceX's financial profile is considerably more complex than private markets may have imagined, especially as the recently merged xAI's economic model remains unproven in public markets. While traditional rocket launches and the Starlink internet business possess strong commercial moats, the company's profit and loss statement has been significantly impacted by incorporating xAI, X, and AI infrastructure into its public narrative. TechCrunch reported that xAI's 2025 revenue was about $3.2 billion with an operating loss of roughly $6.4 billion, and SpaceX's AI business revenue for Q1 2026 was $818 million with a loss of $2.5 billion. These figures suggest SpaceX is transitioning from a "space and satellite internet company with gradually improving cash flow" to a "super hybrid of commercial space, satellite communications, AI computing, and social data platforms," and such hybrid valuations inherently require higher risk discounts. Engineering execution and regulatory risks may also be being repriced into the valuation. SpaceX's long-term premium stems from reusable rockets, the Starlink satellite network, Starship transport capabilities, and future orbital computing infrastructure, but all these depend on extremely complex engineering cycles: rocket reuse reliability, launch frequency, regulatory permits, satellite network replenishment, spectrum resources, orbital debris management, ground station links, low-earth-orbit communication bandwidth, heat dissipation, power supply, and maintenance cycles. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's previous suspension of Starship V3 following an incident demonstrates that space engineering risks do not disappear due to a public listing narrative. For public market investors, a valuation above $2 trillion requires proof that "rockets, Starlink, AI, orbital data centers, and 100GW-level energy storage" can all be delivered simultaneously. $28.5 Trillion – The "Space AI Empire" Super Blueprint Presented by SpaceX to Wall Street. The highly anticipated IPO prospectus released by SpaceX last week shows its self-assessed Total Addressable Market (TAM) is a staggering $28.5 trillion. If this super blueprint, termed a "Space AI Empire," is ever realized, it would approach the total output of the U.S. economy. The company stated in its IPO prospectus that it has "identified the largest executable TAM opportunity in human history," primarily driven by AI super-software, with space's contribution also being significant. This $28.5 trillion projection is comparable to the U.S. nominal GDP of nearly $32 trillion in Q1 2026; the enterprise super-application market around AI is estimated at $22.7 trillion, roughly equivalent to 70% of U.S. economic output. Furthermore, if SpaceX, Tesla Motors, and xAI eventually move towards deeper integration, their narrative and valuation ceiling could be further elevated; Wedbush senior analyst Dan Ives believes SpaceX and Tesla Motors could potentially merge in 2027. This TAM is extremely ambitious, representing a long-term addressable market space. Actual realization depends on Starlink cash flow, AI business commercialization, orbital data center technical feasibility, launch costs, regulation, and capital expenditure efficiency. The $28.5 trillion outlook does not only cover the "space AI data center market size" frequently mentioned by Musk recently, but is SpaceX's self-calculated TAM from the IPO filing, the vast majority of which comes from AI software/enterprise applications, not space or space data centers. According to its breakdown, AI-related segments total approximately $26.5 trillion, including AI enterprise applications ($22.7 trillion), AI infrastructure ($2.4 trillion), AI consumer subscriptions ($760 billion), and AI digital advertising ($600 billion). The true "space-enabled solutions" segment is only $370 billion, while Starlink broadband and mobile combined total about $1.61 trillion. As the world's richest person to date, Musk has previously accomplished what others deemed impossible – building a commercially viable high-frequency rocket launch business through SpaceX, bringing electric vehicles into the mainstream through global EV leader Tesla Motors, and providing internet connectivity infrastructure from space through Starlink. However, some investors question whether Musk can truly build the "most epic" chip-making initiative recently outlined in Austin and realize his envisioned super blueprint encompassing "artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, humanoid robots, and space AI data centers."
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