SpaceX sets IPO price at $135/share, targets $75B raise and $1.75T valuation

A clash over valuation legitimacy, process norms and market trust — is this a disciplined market outcome or a precedent powered by celebrity and control?

SpaceX has fixed an IPO price of $135 per share, planning to sell roughly 555 million shares to raise about $75 billion and implying a company valuation near $1.75 trillion. The aggressive price and unusually pre-set mechanics — declaring the price before the roadshow and typical bookbuilding — have split opinion. Supporters frame this as market choice and reward for rapid Starlink growth and promising Starship potential; skeptics see it as a legitimacy problem, arguing the valuation outpaces independent appraisals and removes normal investor protections. At root, disagreement is less about the arithmetic of shares than about which processes and institutions should determine credible valuations: traditional market underwriting and bookbuilding, or a tightly controlled direct pricing driven by company confidence and celebrity-backed signaling.

Key facts

• SpaceX plans to raise about $75 billion by selling approximately 555.6 million shares at $135 per share.
• The IPO implies a valuation of about $1.75 trillion for SpaceX.
• SpaceX set the IPO share price before its roadshow began, deviating from the usual practice of setting a range after gauging investor demand.
• Morningstar valued SpaceX at about $780 billion — less than half of the IPO target — and called the $1.75 trillion valuation 'significantly overvalued.'
• Analysts say the $1.75 trillion valuation requires near‑flawless execution on Starlink, successful scaling and commercialization of Starship, and profitable or normalized operations from xAI, noting many SpaceX segments remain early-stage or loss-making.
• Observers view SpaceX’s IPO as a potential bellwether for public markets: a successful listing could spur IPO activity among speculative growth firms, while a stumble could dampen investor appetite.
• The IPO pricing mechanics are unusual: SpaceX set its share price at $135 before bookbuilding, removing typical flexibility for investors to influence valuation.
• SpaceX filed its S-1 registration statement with the U.S. SEC on May 20, 2026, targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation (including greenshoe shares) and aiming to raise $75 billion via the IPO.
• A $1.75 trillion target valuation and $75 billion raise would make SpaceX’s IPO the largest ever by proceeds, exceeding prior records such as Saudi Aramco’s $29–30 billion offering.
• Before settling on the $1.75 trillion target and $75B raise, SpaceX had considered lower targets (around $1.5 trillion and a $30–50B raise) but those figures rose as Starlink subscriber growth and business momentum increased in late 2025 and early 2026.