SpaceX, the space venture led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has raised its target valuation to more than $2 trillion (approximately 3,000 trillion won) ahead of a planned public listing. As the world's most valuable startup moves toward what would be the largest initial public offering in history, global capital markets are watching closely. Some observers, however, are raising concerns about whether such a lofty valuation can be justified in the public market.
Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter, that SpaceX has raised its target valuation to more than $2 trillion. The company and its underwriters are currently presenting the valuation to prospective investors to gauge demand. Bloomberg noted that "discussions are still ongoing and listing terms could change."
If the valuation exceeds $2 trillion, SpaceX's worth will have surged roughly 60% in just a few months. The figure is approximately 14% above the $1.75 trillion target previously discussed during the IPO push, and far exceeds the $1.25 trillion valuation assessed in February.
A successful listing would instantly place SpaceX among the top six companies in the S&P 500 index by market capitalization. It would trail only Nvidia ($4.31 trillion), Apple ($3.76 trillion), Alphabet ($3.56 trillion), Microsoft ($2.77 trillion), and Amazon ($2.20 trillion). Notably, the valuation would surpass Meta ($1.45 trillion), a member of the so-called Magnificent Seven, as well as Musk's own Tesla ($1.35 trillion).
SpaceX has filed a preliminary registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, targeting a June listing. The offering is expected to raise up to $75 billion, far exceeding the record $29 billion IPO by Saudi Aramco, the Saudi state energy company, in 2019. Market observers say the listing could mark the starting point of a wave of mega-IPOs, potentially followed by OpenAI and Anthropic.
Still, some market participants urge caution. They point to uncertainty over whether investors will accept such a high valuation.
In particular, concerns are growing that SpaceX could face increased financial strain from pouring significant capital into xAI, which operates in the fiercely competitive artificial intelligence sector, despite SpaceX's dominant position in the space industry. Musk announced a merger of SpaceX and AI startup xAI in February.
Analysts say SpaceX's pivot from raising additional funds in private markets to pursuing a public listing is not unrelated to this expanding capital need. xAI is reportedly burning massive amounts of cash each month on AI model training and computing infrastructure development, increasing the urgency for large-scale fundraising.
Some observers also note that if SpaceX is perceived as having an overly complex business structure, its valuation could end up lower than expected.