By now, you’ve probably seen the headlines suggesting that Elon Musk may finally take SpaceX public, possibly as early as July 2026. If that happens, it would almost certainly be one of the most anticipated IPOs in years. But the story investors should focus on isn’t just the listing itself—it’s the structure Musk appears to be building around it.
Over the past few years, Musk has been quietly reshaping his business empire. Most investors already know Tesla, Inc. (TSLA), but the ecosystem now extends far beyond EVs. SpaceX sits at the center of the space economy with its launch services and Starlink satellite network, while artificial intelligence startup xAI has become Musk’s latest strategic priority.
The turning point was Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter, which he later rebranded as X. At the time, the deal looked like a standalone bet on social media. In hindsight, it increasingly looks like a building block for something bigger. Musk later merged X with xAI—the developer of the Grok chatbot—reportedly valuing the combined entity at around $33 billion. Earlier this year, additional restructuring reportedly tied SpaceX more closely into the broader group.
What’s interesting is that the three businesses are at very different stages financially. SpaceX itself is the clear cash engine. Industry estimates suggest the company generated roughly $15 billion in revenue in 2025, with projections approaching $23–24 billion in 2026 as Starlink continues to expand.
The AI side looks very different. xAI is still in investment mode. Reports indicate the company generated only about $250 million in revenue over the past six months while losing roughly $2.5 billion as it ramps up computing infrastructure and model development.
Meanwhile, X—the former Twitter—remains a work in progress. Musk has aggressively cut costs and introduced new monetization features since taking over, but the platform is still widely believed to be operating at a loss.
That’s why the potential SpaceX IPO may not be as straightforward as many investors expect. If Musk continues integrating these businesses, buying “SpaceX” stock might effectively mean buying exposure to three very different assets: a fast-growing space infrastructure company, a still-unprofitable social platform, and a capital-hungry AI startup.
In other words, the IPO story may be less about a pure-play space company—and more about Musk bringing his broader “X ecosystem” to the public markets.
How much would be a fair valuation for SpaceX? In other words, how much are SpaceX, X, and xAi (Grok) really worth? 1 trillion, 1.25 trillion, or 1.5 trillion? The entire global capital market is working around the clock to calculate the valuation. Because until an actual IPO prospectus submitted, all the numbers regarding revenue and profits are only best guesses, as SpaceX, X and xAi still are private companies.
One datapoint we do have comes from the restructuring earlier this year. When xAI and SpaceX reportedly completed their corporate combination on January 30, the combined entity—SpaceX, X, and xAI together—was valued at around $1.25 trillion. If that figure holds, then the idea that the group could approach $1.5 trillion by the time a SpaceX IPO arrives doesn’t sound particularly unrealistic.
But valuation debates aside, the question I hear most often is much simpler: how can an ordinary investor actually get involved?
The frustrating reality is that all three companies are still private. Unless you happen to work there and receive equity through employee compensation, there’s no straightforward way to buy shares today.
That was exactly the problem I ran into as well. So, I started digging to see whether there are any indirect ways to gain exposure before a potential IPO.
After digging through public filings and disclosures—so take this as my interpretation, and feel free to correct me if I missed something—it does look like there are a few indirect ways investors are trying to get exposure to SpaceX.
The first and most obvious idea people mention is simply buying aerospace-related companies. In theory, if the commercial space industry continues to expand, suppliers and contractors in launch services, satellites, or defense could benefit as well. But personally I’m not convinced this is a good proxy. SpaceX carries a unique valuation premium tied to Elon Musk and the broader ecosystem around Starlink and xAI. Traditional aerospace companies simply don’t capture that dynamic.
A more direct proxy investors often point to is Destiny Tech100 (DXYZ). The idea behind the fund is actually quite exciting: it was created to give public-market investors exposure to a basket of high-growth private technology companies. SpaceX is one of its notable holdings, but what makes the story even more interesting is that the portfolio also includes stakes in companies like OpenAI and several other prominent private tech firms.
On paper, that sounds like a dream vehicle for investors who want exposure to the private tech world before these companies go public. The catch, however, is that DXYZ is structured as a closed-end fund, which creates a few complications. Shares trade in the market like a normal stock, but the supply of shares is fixed. As a result, the price can drift far away from the underlying net asset value of the portfolio. In practice, this means investors sometimes end up paying a large premium simply to access those private holdings. So while it does provide exposure, it’s not always an efficient one.
Another route is venture-style funds that have invested directly in SpaceX.
One example is the ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX), which invests in late-stage private technology companies. SpaceX has frequently been one of the fund’s largest positions. However, these funds also come with limitations. You can't just buy ARKVX on any brokerage (like Robinhood or E*TRADE) because it isn't an ETF that trades on an exchange. It is a closed-end interval fund, meaning liquidity is restricted and investors may only be able to redeem shares periodically via certain platform. If you don’t mind the high expense ratio and restricted quarterly redemption windows, this is a very good choice to get SpaceX exposure.
A few public companies also have some connection to SpaceX through investments or industry partnerships. For example, Alphabet Inc. invested about $900 million in SpaceX back in 2015. But Alphabet is a trillion-dollar company, so the SpaceX stake barely moves the needle for its valuation.
Another example that surfaced recently is XMax Inc. (XWIN). According to the company’s November 26, 2025 announcement, XMax invested about $5.6 million through a subsidiary into an investment vehicle called Preamble Capital I. That vehicle in turn holds an interest in a fund owning 55,629 shares of SpaceX Class A stock and 3,781 shares of Class C stock. So technically, that gives XMax indirect exposure to SpaceX equity. Following that news, the stock has jumped up quite a lot.
Of course, this is very much a micro-cap situation, and companies like XMax come with the usual risks: small market capitalization, high volatility, and sometimes limited liquidity.
So while there are a few creative ways investors are trying to gain exposure before any IPO happens, none of them are perfect substitutes for owning SpaceX directly.
As always, do your own research.
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