The SpaceX IPO is hereand it’s extra than simply an historic public providing that would make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire. It additionally reveals extra methods during which Elon Musk’s firms work together and overlap with one another, shuffling cash round in methods which can be usually troublesome to maintain observe of.
That is evident in methods which can be each apparent and fewer so. A CTRL-F seek for “Tesla” yields 87 outcomes, xAI is talked about 356 occasions, and X 267 occasions. Even the Boring Firm (7 occasions) and Neuralink (3) get a couple of mentions. All through its 330 pages of rocket launches and interplanetary needs, you’ll be able to hint the community of how during which Musk’s firms cope with one another.
It’s additionally evident within the methods Musk’s firms are shareholders in different Musk firms, additional intertwining their fates within the course of. Primarily based on the Type S-1 submitting, Tesla owns almost 19 million shares of SpaceX’s Class A typical inventory, which is lower than 1 p.c of the overall excellent inventory. Tesla’s stake in xAI was transformed to SpaceX shares after Elon Musk merged his AI company with his space company in February.
The IPO additionally reveals SpaceX purchased $131 million price of Cybertrucks “at producer’s prompt retail value from Tesla.” A Bloomberg report earlier this 12 months prompt that SpaceX purchased 1,279 Cybertrucks within the fourth quarter of 2025, however the IPO suggests it has most likely acquired a couple of greater than that. As Electrek noteswith out these purchases, Cybertruck registration numbers possible would have gone down 12 months over 12 months.
Tesla’s Megapacks, the corporate’s large stationary storage batteries, are used to stabilize SpaceX’s Colossus I and II knowledge facilities in Memphis, TN, throughout peak demand. The rocket firm bought $697 million price of Megapacks from Tesla in 2024 and 2025.
SpaceX’s relationship with Musk’s Boring Firm is way more quaint compared. The tunneling enterprise has paid about $1.2 million in workplace leases to SpaceX. And SpaceX spent about $1 million for the Boring Firm to dig a tunnel at its headquarters in Bastrop, Texas.
SpaceX was valued at $1.25 trillion earlier this 12 months after merging with xAI, Musk’s AI firm that additionally owns X, previously Twitter. The tie-up means buyers can be shopping for in at a traditionally excessive value — however Musk mixed the businesses at nice price to himself, and in addition SpaceX. The submitting confirmed that the rocket firm directed about 60 p.c of its capital spending in 2025 towards xAI, or about $20 billion. But as TechCrunch notesxAI misplaced billions of {dollars} final 12 months on income that grew by solely 22 p.c 12 months over 12 months.
When going public, firms are required to record their threat elements, beneath the belief that buyers ought to find out about all of the skeletons within the closet earlier than placing their cash down. For SpaceX, the most important threat can be the most important asset: Elon Musk.
For SpaceX, the most important threat can be the most important asset: Elon Musk.
Whereas any firm, particularly one as complicated as SpaceX, can be anticipated to incorporate a protracted record of threat elements in its S-1, SpaceX’s is exclusive in that it contains its personal CEO. The submitting explicitly states that SpaceX is “extremely depending on the continued providers of Mr. Musk,” noting that his management, imaginative and prescient, and technical experience are important to the corporate’s future.
Like different Musk-owned firms, SpaceX acknowledges that Musk isn’t at all times one hundred pc targeted on SpaceX. And it admits that Musk’s intersecting companies could find yourself cannibalizing one another ultimately. Conflicts might come up. And in the event that they do, Musk is just not “restricted” from doing one thing that immediately competes along with his different firms, together with SpaceX.
Conflicts of curiosity might come up sooner or later between us, on the one hand, and Mr. Musk and entities owned by or affiliated with him, however, regarding amongst different issues, enterprise transactions, potential aggressive enterprise actions or different alternatives…. Moreover, Mr. Musk and different companies owned by or affiliated with him could now, or sooner or later, immediately or not directly, compete with us for funding or enterprise alternatives.
The S-1 goes on to enumerate the methods during which Musk’s intensive entanglements might lead to monetary loss for SpaceX. The corporate is totally depending on his management, and but might additionally incur huge losses because of mentioned management. (See: Tesla in 2025.)
As an illustration, Mr. Musk at the moment serves as Technoking and Chief Govt Officer of Tesla and is concerned in different rising know-how ventures, together with Neuralink and The Boring Firm. Mr. Musk has additionally beforehand served as Senior Advisor to the President of the US. Any such loss or lowered involvement in our enterprise might lead to a cloth antagonistic impact on our enterprise, monetary situation, outcomes of operations, and future prospects.
The pull between threat and reward is a operating theme all through the submitting.
We, Mr. Musk, and different firms Mr. Musk is affiliated with ceaselessly obtain an immense quantity of media consideration. The actions and statements of Mr. Musk and his affiliated ventures, whether or not or indirectly referring to us, could draw important public consideration and scrutiny to us and will doubtlessly have a optimistic or damaging influence on our enterprise, relationships with prospects and regulators, or inventory value.
These usually are not statements you discover in your common S-1 submitting, however SpaceX is just not your typical IPO. Musk stands to make billions if SpaceX establishes a “everlasting” colony on Mars with “at the very least” 1,000,000 inhabitants. He’s additionally a shit magnet that would do severe harm to SpaceX’s popularity. Musk’s firms do enterprise with and are deeply entangled with one another in methods laid bear by the submitting. They purchase every others stuff, compete with one another for RAM, AI chips, and different extremely invaluable elements which can be more and more in brief provide.
Often, his shareholders push again. In 2024, a number of Tesla shareholders sued Musk over claims he was knowingly diverting expertise and sources away from the corporate and directing it towards, xAI. That lawsuit remains to be pending.
