Whether you’re someone who is into stock investments, technology-related businesses, or a general person, SpaceX is a company you can’t be unaware of. However, stock investors, beginners especially, are very interested in owning the shares of a popular technology company. Similarly, the vetted investors also envy becoming shareholders of the world technology giant in the rockets and space technology industry.
SpaceX is the company that remains in the news for one reason or another. Sometimes, it’s Elon Musk who is seen making highlights for his statements, investments, and social media posts. Other times, the company’s achievements make their way to the highlights. However, we will be talking about SpaceX from more of an investment perspective.
This article is for everyone who wants to know if he can become the owner of SpaceX. If yes, how is it possible to own the company’s stocks and claim ownership rights in the company if it is doing so well? We will answer all the questions related to SpaceX stocks, their prices, ownership, and the company’s work in its field.
So, let’s get into it without further ado.
What Is SpaceX?
To begin, let’s talk about SpaceX and what the company is about.
SpaceX has become a global sensation and the true depiction of the technology era we are experiencing in the 21st century. SpaceX was not founded until 2002 by Elon Musk. Initially, he donated $100,000 to the Mars Society in 2001 and became one of the members of the board of directors for a short period. He also announced the Mars Oasis project during his role as the director.
In 2002, Elon Musk started to look for staff for his company, which was to be named SpaceX. Five people were initially shortlisted: Michael Griffin, Jim Cantrel, John Garvey, Tom Mueller, and Chris Thompson. SpaceX stands for Space Exploration Technologies Corp. The company was founded in El Segundo, California, and its headquarters are located in Hawthorne, California. Around 10,000 employees are working at SpaceX, which is still a privately held company.
Elon Musk is the company’s biggest stakeholder and holds the CEO and CTO position. Gwynne Shotwell is serving as the president and COO of the company. The company’s products are related to space, telecommunication launch service providers, and rockets. In fact, SpaceX has become the first private company to build liquid-propellant rockets to reach the Earth’s lower orbit. Besides, SpaceX has developed the largest-ever satellite constellation, enabling it to offer internet services via its Starlink satellites.
Is SpaceX A Publicly Traded Company?
Before we talk about how and when you can buy the stocks of SpaceX, it is important to address the status of the company’s registration.
Why?
You can only buy or sell the stocks of the companies that are publicly traded or registered as public limited companies on the stock exchange. Therefore, if we have to answer the question, ‘Can we buy SpaceX stocks in 2023?’, we need to get into the question of whether SpaceX is a publicly traded company or not.
So here is the answer to this question:
No. SpaceX is not a publicly traded company and is still doing its business as a privately held company. Elon Musk is the company’s biggest shareholder, and there is no chance of SpaceX becoming a publicly traded company any sooner. According to public reports, 40 to 50 percent ownership of the company’s shares is with Elon Musk. The rest of the ownership is with the employees of SpaceX and venture capital investors.
Although SpaceX seems to be a very attractive investment for any person looking to invest in profitable ventures, the company has no problem raising capital from private equity and venture funds. It’s the reason why SpaceX is still operating as a privately held company.
When Will SpaceX Go Into IPO?
Once you know that SpaceX is a privately held company, it makes it pretty clear that it won’t be easy to become an owner or shareholder of the company. Generally, a privately held company has to undergo an IPO when it becomes publicly traded.
IPO stands for Initial Public Offering, which implies that the company will invite the general public to buy the company’s stocks and become a shareholder. It is one of the hottest questions asked about SpaceX when it’s going into the IPO.
There is no exact information about when SpaceX will decide to go public and offer the public to invest in the company. However, per the latest information in 2023, the company has not planned to go into IPO yet. The private equity and venture funds are doing well enough to support the capital needs of SpaceX.
The company has a high value, which makes it a profitable entity. The primary product of SpaceX, Falcon 9, has gained popularity and market share as a low-cost option to launch satellites weighing up to 200 Kg. Besides, the company’s other products also own good market share, making raising capital from the public unnecessary.
Besides, Elon Musk confirmed in April 2023 that SpaceX has no capital raising needs for different investment programs. It implies that no IPO is needed to bring in the money from outside investors.
Who Owns SpaceX?
We have already mentioned that Elon Musk is the major shareholder of SpaceX, along with other venture capitalists and investors. The company’s employees also hold some ownership rights of the company. However, when the question about who owns SpaceX is asked, we have to go a little deeper to know about the owners of the company.
So here is the description of people who are currently holding the ownership right in the publicly held SpaceX:
Elon Musk
As per reports, the major ownership of SpaceX is with Elon Musk, equaling around 40% to 50% of the company. Elon Musk is a very popular entrepreneur who founded the Musk Foundation in 2001 to provide solar-power energy systems in disaster areas. SpaceX was also the brainchild of Elon Musk, and he also owns Tesla, one of the world’s largest electric cars and batteries manufacturer. Elon Musk also has the credit of co-founding PayPal.
Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Capital
If we look at the recent investors who became shareholders of SpaceX, Mirae Asset Venture Investment joined in with an investment of $250m at the company valuation of $127.0 billion.
Vika Ventures
Vika Ventures is also among the investors who became shareholders of SpaceX in August 2022 with the amount of $250m.
Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, Gigafund
In January 2023, Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital, and Gigafund joined the club and became an investor with a gross investment of $750 million at the company valuation of $137 billion.
Crimson Investment Fund, Intesa Sanpaolo
Crimson Investment Fund and Intesa Sanpaolo also became investors in SpaceX as Series D and Late VC in January 2023 and October 2023, respectively.
The other investors and shareholders of the company SpaceX include Fifth Down Capital, Nomad Capital, NASA, IRA Capital, Planetary Holdings, Manhattan Venture Partners, Valor Ventures, Morgan Green Capital Management, VTF Capital, Audrey Capital, Google, Fidelity, Future Ventures, etc.
How Can You Buy SpaceX Stocks In 2023?
After knowing about the status of the company and investors who are the shareholders, you might be curious about the way to buy the stocks of SpaceX.
It is a general misconception that you can not buy stocks of a privately held company. However, it’s not true. You can buy SpaceX Stocks in 2023. It might be more difficult than in the case of a public limited company, but the possibility is there.
The direct way to buy SpaceX stocks is not yet open to the general public. However, you can locate the employees and investors who have received stock compensation from the company’s investment and purchase the stocks if any of them are interested in selling their shares.
To identify the investors or employees interested in selling their stock, you need to register with reputable brokers who specialize in connecting potential investors to private equity company insiders. These brokers will smoothen up your way to become SpaceX’s stock owner.
You will need to undergo a comprehensive accreditation process as laid out for investment in private companies. It includes ensuring sufficient capital is available as minimum investment requirements, capability and willingness to pay brokerage, and being ready to buy the stocks of SpaceX or any other private company at non-negotiable pricing.
Once you’ve satisfied the requirements, you will undergo the paperwork to become the owner of the company.
Why Is It Not Possible To Become Owner Of SpaceX?
The possibility of investing your money and buying stocks of SpaceX has been discussed in the above section. However, the answer to whether you can buy SpaceX stocks from the stock market is still no.
Why?
There is no ambiguity about SpaceX’s status, making it impossible for the general public to sell or buy the company’s stocks and earn money on speculations. Despite being a highly profitable company, SpaceX doesn’t offer its shares to the general public.
It’s not like the company doesn’t need any capital or doesn’t have the requirements of raising funds, but they do it through private equity investors. According to reports, SpaceX raised a whopping $850 million in the first quarter of 2021. The giants like Google and Fidelity have also put their stocks in the company to have ownership rights.
So, the answer to the question is that you can’t buy stocks of SpaceX because it is a privately held company. There are no confirmed reports about the company’s IPO as well.
How To Invest Your Money In SpaceX?
When one door of opportunity closes, there opens yet another one. You might not be able to become a direct shareholder of SpaceX by buying common stocks or purchasing stocks from private investors. However, there are ways to become an indirect investor in the mission and work of SpaceX.
Curious to know how?
You can invest in a public limited company with considerable SpaceX stakes. Now you want to know about the companies?
Here is what you need to know about the companies having ownership rights in SpaceX:
Bank Of America
Bank Of America Corporation is a publicly traded company registered on NYSE. Let’s talk about Bank of America’s profile. It is a $270 billion investment bank and financial services with its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company made an investment of $250 million in SpaceX at the company’s valuation of $30 billion. You can invest in Bank of America’s shares to become the indirect owner of SpaceX.
Alphabet Inc. (Google)
Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, is yet another publicly traded company you can buy stocks of. You can become an indirect shareholder of SpaceX by purchasing stocks of Alphabet Inc., registered on NASDAQ with the symbol GOOGL.
Google is a $1.5 trillion company that specializes in selling advertising services across Google brands and YouTube. The company makes investments in different early-stage tech companies to support the innovation. Therefore, Google invested a good amount of $900 million in SpaceX in 2015 at the company’s valuation of $12 billion. Yet another investment of $337 million was made in SpaceX in 2021, making Google’s ownership in SpaceX around $10 billion.
The other owners of SpaceX are not publicly traded companies. Therefore, you will have to undergo the same process of accreditation to purchase the stocks for indirect investment in SpaceX. Therefore, we recommend that if you’re keen to become the stock owner of SpaceX, you can try out the direct or indirect investment methods.
FAQs
1. Who is the CEO of SpaceX?
Elon Musk, the major shareholder of the company SpaceX, is the company’s current CEO.
2. Can you buy SpaceX stocks?
No. The general public can not buy the stocks of SpaceX as it is a privately held company. However, if you’re a venture capitalist or private investor, you might have a chance to become a shareholder of SpaceX.
3. What is the current price of SpaceX stock?
The stock price of publicly traded companies is reported on the stock exchange and fluctuates according to different factors. However, the stock price of privately held companies is not made public. Therefore, the information about SpaceX stock’s current price is unknown.