SpaceX is in talks to raise fresh capital through an internal share sale that would boost its valuation to approximately $400 billion, marking another milestone in the company’s remarkable rise as the world’s most valuable private space firm.
The deal, first reported by Bloomberg and corroborated by other outlets including The Information and Financial Times, is structured to raise new money while also offering a path for employee liquidity.
The dual-track transaction would include a primary fundraising round—targeting a small group of insiders and investors—as well as a tender offer, allowing current and former SpaceX employees to cash out a portion of their shares. This mechanism has become routine for SpaceX, which typically holds two such tender events each year, offering workers a rare chance to monetize their equity in the privately held company.
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The tender is expected to price shares at about $212 apiece, up significantly from the $97 range seen just two years ago. The $400 billion valuation represents a jump from $350 billion during the company’s last tender offer in December 2024, and it more than triples SpaceX’s valuation from 2021, when the firm crossed the $100 billion mark for the first time.
Valuation Surge Fueled by Starlink, Starship
Since its founding by Elon Musk in 2002, SpaceX has steadily climbed to the forefront of the global aerospace and satellite internet industries, propelled by ambitious projects that now span:
Commercial and government launches: SpaceX controls more than half of the global market for orbital launches and has become the primary launch partner for NASA and the Pentagon.
Starlink: Its satellite internet business now serves over 3 million users worldwide, offering high-speed broadband via a growing constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites.
Starship: Still in development, this next-generation, fully reusable rocket is central to future deep-space missions and NASA’s Artemis program for lunar exploration.
The company’s tight grip on commercial launch services, expanding broadband footprint through Starlink, and high-stakes Starship ambitions continue to drive investor interest—and the massive valuation.
Internal Tender: Incentive and Retention Tool
This internal share sale isn’t just about raising cash. It’s also a strategy to reward and retain top talent in a firm that remains private despite growing interest in a potential IPO.
Under the terms of the current offer, select employees and former staff can sell their shares—though SpaceX often requires minimum thresholds to participate, sometimes $1 million or more. Past tender rounds have seen SpaceX itself buy back shares as well.
While Elon Musk has long resisted taking the company public, citing the quarterly pressures and regulatory headaches of the stock market, these regular liquidity events serve as a substitute for IPO-like compensation.
The new capital raise comes at a time of heightened investor sensitivity, as some analysts begin to question the sustainability of private tech valuations amid rising interest rates and macroeconomic uncertainty.
SpaceX remains a capital-intensive company. The Starship project alone has cost billions, with testing and development ongoing. Despite recent progress, full deployment for deep-space missions is still likely years away. Meanwhile, the global rollout of Starlink continues to require heavy investment in satellites, ground infrastructure, and international regulatory compliance.
Still, the upside for SpaceX is substantial. If Starlink achieves its targeted revenue scale, and if Starship delivers on its promise of fully reusable space travel, the company could transform global space economics.
IPO? Not Anytime Soon
Despite the swelling valuation, Elon Musk has repeatedly signaled that SpaceX will remain private for the foreseeable future, particularly because he wants to keep control of long-term missions like Mars colonization without shareholder interference.
This has led to growing speculation among analysts and investors about whether Starlink could eventually be spun off and taken public. Musk has said that’s possible, but only once Starlink achieves financial stability and predictable revenue—something he says is still a few years away.
Several analysts suggest the $400 billion valuation may still be justified, despite concerns about froth in private tech markets. With recurring revenue from Starlink, steady launch income from commercial and government contracts, and exclusive dominance in heavy-lift capabilities, SpaceX is in a category of its own.
The details of the deal, including the exact size of the funding round and tender offer, remain fluid. SpaceX has not publicly confirmed the numbers or participants. But if finalized as planned, the deal would reinforce SpaceX’s dominance in the global private space sector and further cement its lead in the race for a future beyond Earth.