Tech

Musk Rewrites the IPO Playbook for SpaceX Listing

by Rethabile Ramafoko
written by Rethabile Ramafoko

TEXAS, Mar 27 – Elon Musk is discussing allocating as much as 30% of SpaceX’s initial public offering to individual investors at least three times the standard retail slice in a typical Wall Street listing leaning on loyal backers and individual investors to stabilise trading after what could be one of the largest public market debuts in history

The plan was relayed to Wall Street by SpaceX Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen. It pairs the oversized retail allocation with an unusually deliberate approach to assigning banks, with SpaceX directing firms to narrowly defined roles based on personal relationships and past ties rather than allowing broad competition for investor mandates an arrangement market participants have described as a “lane” structure

Musk handpicked Bank of America to focus on domestic retail distribution, particularly high-net-worth individuals and family offices in the United States. Morgan Stanley will handle smaller-ticket retail investors through its E Trade platform. UBS has been assigned international high-net-worth clients, while Citi is coordinating broader international retail and institutional distribution

SpaceX is betting that retail buyers who follow its companies closely may prove more patient than fast-moving institutional money after the listing
The company is counting on investors who have tracked SpaceX in private markets for years being less inclined to engage in rapid post-listing sell-offs

SpaceX is also exploring giving Tesla shareholders priority access to the IPO, and investors who provided financial backing when Musk acquired X in 2022 may also be included

SpaceX is targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation for the IPO, with the company’s valuation having grown from $46 billion in 2020 driven primarily by Starlink’s profitability and expanding launch market dominance
At that figure, the offering would surpass Saudi Aramco’s 2019 listing as the largest in history

SpaceX has not yet finalized the size or timing of the offering