Market AnalysisMay 20, 20262 Min

SpaceX Taps Goldman Sachs For Blockbuster IPO As Filing Date Nears

SpaceX's $1.25 Trillion Debut

SpaceX is moving closer to its long-awaited stock market debut, with Goldman Sachs reportedly selected for the lead left position on the company’s IPO prospectus. The move signals that preparations for the public offering are gathering pace, with the prospectus potentially being released as early as May 20.

Wall Street Line-Up

Goldman Sachs is expected to lead the offering, while Morgan Stanley has secured the next position.

The other major banks involved are:

  • Bank of America
  • Citigroup
  • JPMorgan Chase

Prospectus Could Be Released This Week

Elon Musk’s reusable rocket company confidentially filed its prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month and may publicly release it this week.

The IPO is widely expected to become one of the largest ever, especially after Musk valued the company at $1.25 trillion earlier this year when he merged SpaceX with xAI, his artificial intelligence venture.

This valuation places SpaceX in rare territory. Facebook and Alibaba are the only two technology companies to have crossed the $100-billion valuation mark following their first trading day on the U.S. exchanges.

AI Boom Driving Mega IPO Expectations

The public markets have recently seen renewed enthusiasm for large technology listings linked to artificial intelligence.

AI chipmaker Cerebras made its Nasdaq debut last week and closed with a market capitalisation of around $95 billion.

SpaceX is also expected to hit the market before AI leaders OpenAI and Anthropic, both of which are reportedly considering public listings this year.

IPO Comes Amid OpenAI Court Setback

The expected filing also arrives shortly after Musk faced a legal setback involving OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman. Musk had sued Altman in 2024, alleging that OpenAI had abandoned its original non-profit mission.

An advisory jury in Oakland, California, ruled that Musk had waited too long to bring the case. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers immediately adopted the verdict.

Musk described the outcome as a “calendar technicality,” and said that he plans to appeal.

Goldman Sachs Previously Led Tesla IPO

This is not the first time Goldman Sachs Is playing a major role in taking one of Musk’s companies public. Back in 2010 too, when Tesla listed on the Nasdaq, Goldman Sachs had led the offering. Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank were among the other banks involved in that IPO.

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