It’s happening.
SpaceX is finally moving toward public markets and Goldman Sachs is reportedly holding the wheel. Or at least sitting in the front passenger seat with the map. Sources tell CNBC the investment bank has landed the “lead left position” on what promises to be the biggest listing in history. That’s finance-speak for “primary underwriter,” the entity tasked with wrangling investors and setting the final price.
Behind them stand the usual heavy hitters: Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan. A lineup that makes Wall Street nervous just to look at. Neither SpaceX nor Goldman confirmed anything yet, of course. Secrecy is part of the brand. Details on valuation, size, timing? Still blurry. But the direction is clear.
“The lead left position indicates it is primarily responsible for coordinating the Offering.”
Trillions on the table
Current estimates peg the company’s debut this year somewhere north of $1.2 trillion. Maybe more.
Do the math. That number shatters every previous record. It places SpaceX immediately inside the top ten most valuable public companies, potentially ahead of Tesla. Elon Musk’s other major bet. This move would also do something unprecedented for the man behind both: turn him into history’s first confirmed trillionaire. Not projected. Actual. On paper, anyway.
Retail investors might actually get a piece of it too. Unlikely, but happening anyway. Musk is considering carving out up to 30% specifically for individual shareholders. That is an absurdly large chunk for an IPO of this magnitude. Usually, big funds eat the meat. This would force broader access, letting smaller accounts buy in rather than leaving everything to institutions. Analysts aren’t used to that level of inclusion from mega-caps.
AI and the star link
Why so valuable?
Starlink carries the weight. Recurring revenue, global subscriber growth, a clear model that works. But the tech side is expanding beyond rockets. In February, SpaceX swallowed xAI in an all-stock deal. That merger pushed private valuations to $1.25 trillion combined, adding serious artificial intelligence exposure to the balance sheet. Suddenly the pitch isn’t just aerospace anymore. It’s a full-stack AI infrastructure play.
This launch matters beyond Elon’s bank account. Equity markets have been quiet for too long. High interest rates crushed IPO activity recently. Technology valuations wobbled. Investors got jumpy.
Cerebras Systems debuted last week, settling near a $95 billion market cap. It sent a signal. Expect more. This year might finally become the wave analysts promised, driven by AI-heavy debuts like this one.
For Goldman, winning this mandate isn’t just another paycheck. It proves dominance in tech listings during a time when banks are fighting harder for attention than ever before. They wanted this win.
The rest is speculation, noise, and waiting. The price remains unset. The date is vague. The sheer scale makes your head spin if you think about it too long.
