SpaceX lost $4.9 billion last year. On Friday it may be worth more than Tesla.
Those two facts do not seem to fit, and that is what makes this deal so wild. Here is what investors need to know.
SpaceX priced its shares at $135 and is raising about $75 billion. That makes it the largest IPO ever, which is a company's first sale of stock to the public.
It more than doubles the old record, set by Saudi Aramco in 2019. The deal values SpaceX at about $1.75 trillion.
That would make it about the seventh-biggest firm in America, just ahead of Tesla. Its shares will trade under the ticker SPCX on the Nasdaq.
The price looks bold next to the books. SpaceX lost $4.9 billion on $18.7 billion in sales last year, so buyers are paying for the future, not the present.
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Most IPOs give big banks the first crack at shares, but this one flips that. SpaceX is setting aside up to 30% of its shares for everyday buyers, far above the usual 5% to 10%.
Demand has reportedly topped $150 billion. That is far more than the company is even selling.
Index funds may have to pile in fast, too. One major index plans to start adding SpaceX as soon as its second day of trading.
Retail demand alone has been massive, with everyday buyers lining up for weeks. That kind of hype can cut both ways.
But that hunger comes with a warning. With few shares trading freely at first, the price can swing hard.
The free float is the slice of shares that trade openly, and SpaceX's will be small at the start. Think of an auction with a few items and a room full of bidders.
Some on Wall Street already see a Tesla deal coming, since Musk runs both firms. Wedbush's Dan Ives says a combined company could be worth around $3 trillion.
SpaceX has bold plans on paper, too. Its filing talks about Mars colonies, asteroid mining and even data centers in space.
SpaceX is also the first of several huge IPOs this year. How it trades will set the mood for OpenAI and Anthropic.
Those space plans are years away, if they happen at all. For now, buyers are betting on the story as much as the numbers.
The first days of trading will test the whole IPO market. A strong start could pull more big names public, while a flop could cool the rush.
By Friday's close, investors will get their first real read on the biggest debut ever.
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