In an era when commercial spaceflight companies are increasingly taking on endeavors once the realm of government agencies like NASA, SpaceX stands out.
The company, which billionaire Elon Musk founded in 2002, has firmly solidified its status as one of most reputable and well-known commercial cosmic ventures. SpaceX not only routinely facilitates private space voyages and launches its own satellites, but is critical to the country’s own spaceflight ambitions as NASA eyes human missions to the moon and Mars.
Of course, such a reputation, coupled with SpaceX’s lucrative and busy rocket launch cadence, have made the company one of the most sought-after investment opportunities. But because SpaceX is a privately held company, the public isn’t able to directly buy its stock and participate in its growth – yet.
Could that be changing?
Several recent reports, including from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, have suggested that SpaceX is planning to go public in mid- to late 2026. The news comes after shareholders at Tesla, which Musk also chairs, approved a deal that could make him the world’s first trillionaire.
Here’s what to know about SpaceX, and whether you’ll ever have an opportunity to invest in Musk’s rocket and satellite company.
Elon Musk attends the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 19, 2025.
SpaceX is the commercial spaceflight company that Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, founded in 2002. Musk, a former close adviser of President Donald Trump, is also the chief executive of SpaceX.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 – the most active rocket in the world – is used on a variety of missions, including deployments of the company’s Starlink internet satellites from both Florida and California. With around 9,000 satellites in its growing orbital constellation, Starlink has become a lucrative part of Musk’s business empire, serving millions of customers around the world.
SpaceX additionally benefits from billions of dollars in contracts from the Department of Defense by providing launch services for classified satellites and other payloads. The Falcon 9 rocket also helps launch NASA’s human spaceflight missions to the International Space Station.
The SpaceX Starship spacecraft sits Oct. 12, 2025 atop the Super Heavy booster before sunrise as preparations continue for its 11th test flight from the company’s complex in Starbase, Texas.
The company is headquartered at Starbase in South Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border, which voters in Cameron County approved in May 2025 to become its own city.
The site is best known as the location where SpaceX builds and launches its 400-foot megarocket known as Starship on a series of flight tests. The 11th flight test, which took place in the middle of October, helped SpaceX end the year on a high note after 2025 began with a series of explosive failures for the world’s largest rocket.
In the years ahead, Starship is due to help NASA astronauts land on the moon under the U.S. space agency’s Artemis program. Musk also has dreams of Starship being the vehicle that transports the first humans to Mars.
Investors have long been eager for SpaceX to make an initial public offering, or an IPO, which would be the first time the company sells shares of stock to the public.
Reports have indicated that SpaceX has begun discussions with banks about launching the offering around June or July, according to Reuters, which cited an unnamed source Dec. 10 familiar with the matter. Bloomberg News was first to report the potential terms of the offering.
SpaceX is looking to raise more than $25 billion at a valuation that could make it one of the most valuable U.S. private companies, according to Reuters and other reports. The move could boost the rocket-maker’s valuation to more than $1 trillion, Reuters reported, citing its unnamed source.
The Wall Street Journal also reported Dec. 5 that SpaceX had plans for a secondary share sale that would value the company at $800 billion. However, Musk dismissed the report as inaccurate.
“SpaceX has been cash flow positive for many years and does periodic stock buybacks twice a year to provide liquidity for employees and investors,” Musk said on social media site X, which he owns.
In June, Musk said on X that he expected SpaceX commercial revenue to “exceed the entire budget of NASA next year.” According to the tech mogul, SpaceX’s revenue for 2025 is expected to be around $15.5 billion, of which approximately $1.1 billion alone will be from its work with NASA.
Until SpaceX begins trading on public stock exchanges, only accredited investors can trade shares, according to Nasdaq Private Market.
Musk is not yet a trillionaire, although there’s a chance he could become one after Tesla shareholders agreed to grant him shares worth trillions Nov. 6 if the company reaches its financial and operational goals in the next decade.
As of 2025, Musk has a net worth estimated to be more than $490 billion, according to Forbes.
Contributing: Edward Segarra, Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY; Reuters
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is SpaceX going public? Elon Musk’s rocket company may seek 1st IPO
