Elon Musk Appears to Confirm SpaceX IPO. It Could Be Bigger Than Boeing, Lockheed, and GE Combined.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk might use lower costs to build AI data centers in space. (RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

Key Points

• Elon Musk seemed to confirm plans for a SpaceX IPO, stating that a recent article detailing reasons for the offering was accurate.
• SpaceX may pursue an IPO to raise capital for AI computing in space, a new business venture for the company.
• The company’s current valuation is largely attributed to Starlink, its broadband service with over 8 million customers.

Elon Musk appears to have confirmed IPO plans for his rocket company SpaceX—and revealed why it might happen soon.

On Wednesday evening, Musk responded to a tweet from Ars Technica senior space editor Eric Berger, who posted a story about the reasons SpaceX, which has seemingly been content to stay private, without a need for more capital, might pursue an initial public offering of stock.

“As usual, Eric is accurate,” said Musk.

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Those five words are significant. A SpaceX IPO would almost certainly be the biggest event for capital markets in 2026. The story and Musk’s tweet came after recent reports that SpaceX might go public, seeking a $1.5 trillion valuation.

The number is incredible, worth almost two times the combined value of Boeing , Airbus, Lockheed Martin, and General Electric. The latter is the most valuable publicly traded aerospace company in the West, with a market value, including debt, of $300 billion.

There is still some wiggle room for Musk. He was addressing the reasons SpaceX would go public, which come down to AI.

On Sunday, Musk tweeted about AI computing in space: “Satellites with localized AI compute, where just the results are beamed back from low-latency, sun-synchronous orbit, will be the lowest cost way to generate AI bitstreams in less than three years.”

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Musk is all about AI, helping found OpenAI, and running his AI company, which owns X, called xAI. What’s more, Tesla uses AI computing to train cars to drive themselves and humanoid robots to do useful tasks.

Access to, and expertise in, low-cost AI compute is about as important a competitive advantage as anyone on Wall Street can imagine these days.

SpaceX has the launch capacity and satellite-making ability to create and operate data centers in space. But AI is expensive. And Musk wants it fast. So SpaceX might need the extra capital to create what is essentially another business for Musk’s space company.

Most of SpaceX’s value is currently tied up in Starlink, its space-based broadband service with more than 8 million customers.

AI development is accelerating and driving a convergence with Musk’s main companies. That’s the why of a SpaceX IPO. Now investors want to know when and how much.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com