The company is now a conglomerate that includes everything from space rockets and Starlink satellites to artificial intelligence and X, formerly known as Twitter
Elon Musk-run SpaceX is making around 30% of shares through stock market listing available to retail investors(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Elon Musk’s business empire is expected to be valued at £1.3trillion at its blockbuster stock market debut on Friday.
The controversial billionaire, already the world’s richest person, is set to be elevated to trillionaire status when SpaceX lists on America’s Nasdaq index.
The company is now a conglomerate that includes everything from space rockets and Starlink satellites to artificial intelligence and X, formerly known as Twitter.
The initial public offering (IPO) is expected to be the biggest in history, which SpaceX hoping to raise more than £64billion from selling shares in the business. It would be triple the previous record listing, which was Gulf oil giant Saudi Aramco.
All eyes will be on what happens after it lists given the share sale is believed to be heavily over-subscribed.
Around 30% of the stock is expected to be made available to retail investors, as opposed to institutions. In other IPOs the number is often more like 5% or 10%.
And while the IPO is happening in New York, investment platforms in the UK have offered Brits the chance to buy SpaceX shares.
Millions of other ordinary people are also set to become part-owned, indirectly at least, because of the way their pension fund automatically invests their money.
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at investment service Wealth Club, said: “Shares look set for a big pop as trading begins on the Nasdaq, given the frenzy surrounding the launch.
“Demand from investors is reported to be four times greater than the number of shares available in the offering. But it could trigger yet another wave of erratic buying and selling across the tech sector. We are already seeing some repositioning of portfolios as eager investors free up money to gain exposure.”
Despite the mind-blowing numbers involved, some have questioned SpaceX’s colossal price tag.
MorningStar, an independent research firm, reckons SpaceX’s shares are worth around $63, far less than the $135 they are expected to fetch.
Michael Field, its chief equity strategist, said: “Investors are naturally excited about the SpaceX IPO, but with investment bankers suggesting a $1.75trillion valuation, we believe it’s overvalued. Investors should sit this one out and wait for a more attractive entry point down the line.
“We believe the business has real strengths, particularly in Starlink, but with so many unknown and untested technologies underpinning much of the valuation price, particularly within the AI business, we think the valuation is extremely speculative.”
Oxfam has also seized on the staggering figures, with the charity calling Musk’s expected trillionaire status “a dark day for global democracy”.
According to its analysis, his wealth would then exceed that of the poorest 3.8 billion people on Earth – 46% of the global population.
Jean Mclean, chief influencing officer at Oxfam GB said: “The emergence of the world’s first trillionaire should be a wake-up call. A trillionaire is not a sign of a healthy economy – it is a sign that extraordinary wealth and power are being concentrated in the hands of a tiny few while millions of people struggle to afford the basics. This is a dark day for global democracy.
“While millions across the world and in the UK struggle with the cost of living and continue to be told there is no money for critical services like schools and healthcare, billionaire fortunes keep growing at staggering speed. People increasingly understand that this level of inequality is not inevitable – it is the result of political choices about who our economies are designed to work for.”