Elon Musk’s rocketship-AI company SpaceX is expected to go public on June 12, and when it does, the richest man in the world hopes investors will help him raise $75 billion, valuing the business at somewhere between $1.75 trillion and $2 trillion. If those numbers sound insane to you, consider this: With the debut of SpaceX on the NASDAQ, Musk — currently worth an estimated $811 billion — will very likely become the first trillionaire in history. (He also essentially can’t be fired.) Some investors think this sounds like a great idea. Others are more skeptical. At least one person has uttered the words “The valuation makes no sense” while simultaneously expressing confidence in Musk’s ability to make people believe.
If you’re confused about exactly what SpaceX does, that’s probably because the company’s primary purpose has changed several times. Originally, it was all about getting people to Mars. “The most powerful thing we could do is establish a second, self-sustaining civilization outside of Earth,” Musk said in 2003. “And the only place that’s really feasible is Mars.” Now, SpaceX is planning to build a “self-growing city on the moon,” and thanks to a February merger between SpaceX and Musk’s artificial-intelligence start-up xAI, the company is also a satellite internet business for consumers, through Starlink; a defense-satellite business, through Starshield; an AI company, through xAI — home to Grok, the chatbot that loves Hitler and removing people’s clothes without their consent — and a social-media platform by way of X, the digital town hall that Musk acquired in 2022 and renamed his favorite letter.
