As much as $1tn of the value of SpaceX’s initial public offering is based on a series of ambitious “moonshot” goals that investors must bet will be achieved to justify Elon Musk’s lofty price tag.
According to people involved in the record $1.78tn offering, investor presentations and research circulated ahead of the IPO, much of the valuation rests on assumptions that SpaceX can reach Mars with reusable rockets, put data centres into orbit and play a key role in developing AI.
Investors are also assuming that SpaceX can drive home its existing advantages by making Starlink the dominant communications network and its reusable rockets will help create new markets outside Earth.