SpaceX’s IPO will test the ‘Elon premium’ that has defined Tesla’s valuation for years

SpaceX is preparing to go public on Nasdaq with a targeted valuation between $1.75 trillion and $1.77 trillion, pricing shares at roughly $135 each. If all goes as planned, pricing happens on or around June 11, 2026, with trading starting the next day. The company is looking to raise up to $75 billion, which would make it one of the largest IPOs in history by a wide margin.

The numbers behind the rocket

SpaceX lost $4.94 billion in 2025. A company seeking a valuation that would rank among the top US public companies by market cap posted a nearly $5 billion net loss while pursuing growth across Starlink satellite internet and orbital AI initiatives.

The governance structure adds another layer of complexity. Musk will retain approximately 85% of voting power through a dual-class share arrangement, despite owning only about 42% of the company’s equity. New investors get economic exposure but very little say in how the company is run.

The Bitcoin wrinkle

Buried in SpaceX’s S-1 filing is a detail that should catch the attention of crypto-native investors. The company holds approximately 18,712 Bitcoins as part of its digital asset portfolio, making SpaceX one of the larger corporate holders of the asset alongside MicroStrategy, Tesla, and a handful of others.

The move mirrors what Musk did at Tesla, which famously bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin back in early 2021 and has maintained a position since.

Testing the Elon premium across two companies

Now institutional investors face a portfolio construction problem. If a fund manager believes in the Elon premium, do they split their allocation between Tesla and SpaceX? Do they sell Tesla to buy SpaceX? Or do they double down on both, arguing the premium applies independently to each company?

If SpaceX lists at $1.75 trillion and Tesla maintains its own premium valuation, the combined market cap of Musk’s two primary public companies would represent an enormous share of US equity markets.

The dual-class share structure deserves scrutiny from governance-focused investors. Musk controlling 85% of votes with 42% of equity means public shareholders are essentially passengers. If SpaceX makes a controversial capital allocation decision, pursues an acquisition that dilutes value, or shifts strategy in a direction investors dislike, they have virtually no recourse beyond selling their shares.

A company with a $5 billion annual loss commanding a $1.75 trillion valuation is pure story stock territory. SpaceX has achieved things in rocketry that seemed impossible a decade ago, and Starlink is building a global internet infrastructure that has no real competitor at scale. But the gap between the current financials and the asking price is the widest of any IPO in recent memory.