It is truly hard to believe that this company has never had a public share price when you watch a Falcon 9 rocket take off from Cape Canaveral in the wee hours of the morning, with the ground trembling a little and the exhaust cloud catching the floodlights. Without ever giving regular investors a seat at the table, SpaceX has been quietly building one of the most valuable private companies in history, launching satellites, and supplying the International Space Station. That may be changing at last.
Early in 2026, there were rumors that SpaceX had secretly submitted a draft prospectus to authorities, a step that usually indicates a serious intention to go public. A number of sources, such as Hargreaves Lansdown and Yahoo Finance, have suggested a mid-2026 timeline, possibly in June or July, with a valuation that is close to $2 trillion. If that figure holds true, the SpaceX IPO would surpass Saudi Aramco’s 2019 listing as the biggest in market history. Investors seem to think the number isn’t totally absurd given SpaceX’s government contracts, Starlink subscriber growth, and its early 2026 merger with Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI. However, it’s still unclear whether that valuation survives contact with public market scrutiny.
| SpaceX — Key Investment Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Company Full Name | Space Exploration Technologies Corp. |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | Elon Musk |
| Current Status | Privately held — not yet publicly traded |
| Reported IPO Timeline | Mid-2026, approximately June or July |
| Estimated Valuation at IPO | ~$2 trillion (£1.75 trillion) — potentially the largest IPO in history |
| Current Private Market Share Price | ~$662.37 (Hiive private market, April 2026) |
| Pre-IPO Access for Retail Investors | Via private secondary markets — platforms like SoFi and Titan ($500 minimum) |
| UK Investor Options | Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (SMT), US Growth Trust, Schiehallion Fund |
| Post-xAI Merger | Combined with Elon Musk’s xAI in early 2026 — now carries AI exposure |
| Key Risk | Private company — limited disclosure, no guaranteed IPO date, valuation uncertainty |
| Reference | The Motley Fool — SpaceX Investment Guide |
Private secondary markets are the most direct route for investors who wish to participate prior to any official listing. Transactions between current SpaceX shareholders and outside buyers are currently facilitated by platforms like Forge Global and Hiive; as of late April 2026, the share price on Hiive was approximately $662. Although these markets are typically only open to accredited or institutional investors, platforms like SoFi and Titan have somewhat lowered the barrier by allowing participation with minimums of about $500. Although the conditions are complicated and the liquidity is limited, access is genuine for investors who are prepared to put up with these limitations.
Investors in the UK deal with a somewhat different environment. Many people who have been watching Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust covertly increase its SpaceX exposure to 19.3% of its portfolio are uncomfortable with the uncertainty surrounding whether SpaceX’s IPO will include a global offering that extends to British retail investors.
The trust, which is listed on the FTSE and is run by Baillie Gifford, has increased by about 19% in just one month, which clearly raises concerns about how the concentration of SpaceX holdings is affecting the share price. By no means is Scottish Mortgage a pure SpaceX play; it includes MercadoLibre, Tesla, Amazon, and others, but the SpaceX weighting is difficult to overlook. For UK investors who don’t want to wait, the US Growth Trust and Schiehallion Fund provide comparable indirect exposure.
Following all of this, there’s a sense that the SpaceX IPO has attracted attention from investors in a way that very few businesses ever do. Before going public, Tesla produced something similar, which attracted a lot of retail interest and raised some doubts about whether the excitement was outweighing the fundamentals. Although SpaceX has some significant differences, such as real government revenue, a working satellite internet business, and defense contracts, the hype dynamic isn’t totally different. There is momentum as well as conviction. It’s another matter entirely if they are pointing in the same direction.
Right now, preparation is more important than timing for anyone who is seriously thinking about participating. Once shares start trading, US investors should have a brokerage account ready and be aware of the distinction between secondary market purchasing and IPO allocation, which is rarely guaranteed for retail participants. Because purchasing US-listed shares necessitates the completion of a W-8BEN form, UK investors utilizing platforms such as Hargreaves Lansdown should do so prior to any listing. When an IPO actually opens, both of these steps are usually overlooked because they don’t take much time. For over twenty years, SpaceX has maintained its privacy. It’s unlikely to remain silent for very long once the window opens.
