Key Points:
• SpaceX IPO plans include super-voting shares for Elon Musk.
• Company targeting $1.75 trillion valuation, $75 billion raise.
• Dual-class equity structure limits public shareholder influence.
• SpaceX incurred a $4.94 billion loss in 2025 due to xAI investments.
SpaceX intends to cement founder Elon Musk’s control after its initial public offering (IPO) by granting him and a small group of insiders super-voting shares. These shares will give them significantly more voting power than other investors, according to excerpts of the company’s confidential IPO filing reviewed.
The prospectus, filed this month, offers new details about SpaceX’s financial health and corporate governance structure. While Musk received a modest $54,080 last year, the stock market debut could see him gain billions in equity.
SpaceX is aiming for a massive valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion with a $75 billion capital raise, which would make it the largest initial public offering in history. Other executives’ compensation included President and COO Gwynne Shotwell, who received $85.8 million, and CFO Bret Johnsen, who was paid $9.8 million last year.
These executives are actively pushing Musk’s IPO ambitions, with three days of meetings planned this week for Wall Street analysts. The schedule includes a tour and briefings at SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
The filing excerpts reveal that SpaceX will use a dual-class equity structure. Class B shareholders, comprising Musk and other insiders, will receive 10 votes per share, concentrating power. In contrast, Class A shares, sold to public investors, will carry only one vote each.
The prospectus also outlines provisions that could limit public shareholders’ ability to influence board elections or pursue certain legal claims. Disputes will be forced into arbitration, restricting where they can be brought. While such structures are common among founder-led technology companies, they inherently limit the influence of public shareholders on strategy or in challenging management.
Investors are getting their first look at SpaceX’s financial health, particularly after the company merged its rocket-making operations with Elon Musk’s social media and AI company xAI this year. The combined entity ended 2025 with about $24.8 billion in cash and total assets of $92 billion against total liabilities of $50.8 billion.
SpaceX swung to a $4.94 billion consolidated loss in 2025 on revenue of $18.67 billion, a stark contrast to the $791 million profit and $14.02 billion in revenue the year before. This loss stems from heavy investments in xAI’s artificial intelligence infrastructure.
