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Elon Musk’s SpaceX is preparing to sell about $1bn of its shares in a deal that would value the rocket and satellite group at $400bn, according to people familiar with the matter.
The sale of employee shares, known as a tender offer, would mark another large jump in SpaceX’s valuation. It was valued at $210bn in the middle of last year, but its valuation soared to $350bn in December when it carried out its most recent tender offer.
The transaction reinforces SpaceX’s position as one of the most valuable private companies in the world. OpenAI was valued at $300bn earlier this year while TikTok parent company ByteDance was valued at more than $400bn in February.
The valuation places SpaceX on par with the top 20 most valuable public companies in the S&P 500, ahead of groups such as Bank of America and Procter & Gamble.
The latest deal, which was sent to investors earlier on Tuesday, would value shares at $212 each. SpaceX has signalled it will purchase some shares as part of the transaction, according to two people close to the matter.
SpaceX purchased $500mn employee shares in December as part of its $1.25bn tender offer. The latest deal was first reported by Bloomberg.
Musk’s companies — which also include Tesla, social media site X and artificial intelligence start-up xAI — benefited from the billionaire entrepreneur’s connections to US President Donald Trump following the election last November.
Musk was one of Trump’s biggest backers, spending more than $250mn on his campaign, but a public spat last month has led to concerns about blowback for some of his businesses.
The transaction suggests investors are looking past the risk of SpaceX losing government contracts, or even facing nationalisation, if Trump chooses to target the company.
SpaceX was founded by Musk in 2002 with about $100mn he made from the sale of PayPal. He has said the company wants to revolutionise space travel by developing reusable rockets and making the human race “multiplanetary” by working on the technologies needed to make life possible on Mars.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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