Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans share sale that would lift value to around US$400 billion

SpaceX is discussing plans to raise money and sell insider shares in a deal that would value Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite maker at around US$400 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

That would mark the largest-ever valuation for a privately held US company, surpassing SpaceX’s previous record of US$350 billion from its share buy-back in December and rivalling the values of TikTok owner ByteDance and ChatGPT creator OpenAI.

The valuation reflects a range of factors, including the rise of the company’s fast-growing Starlink satellite internet unit, which people familiar with the matter said accounts for more than half of SpaceX’s annual revenue, and the company’s ability to achieve new milestones with its Starship rocket programme.

SpaceX, already among the industry’s pre-eminent rocket launch providers, is working to get development of its revolutionary launch system back on track after a string of explosive setbacks, including a huge blast on its test stand in Texas last month.

The latest SpaceX fundraising comes as Musk, the world’s richest person, is again locked in a tit-for-tat public feud with US President Donald Trump over his administration’s landmark spending and tax-cut package, and has teased the idea of launching a new political party.