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Elon Musk prioritizes the IPO plan for SpaceX. Photo: Bloomberg . |
SpaceX has repeatedly delayed its IPO plans, but the AI wave is forcing Elon Musk to change his priorities. According to sources, the billionaire is pushing ahead with SpaceX's initial public offering (IPO), as his ambition to deploy AI data centers in space has become an urgent goal.
For a long time, SpaceX was one of the most valuable private companies in the United States. The lack of pressure from the stock market allowed the rocket company to pursue high-risk space projects while avoiding scrutiny from the public. SpaceX's leadership has stated that they would not go public until their rockets could fly smoothly to Mars.
SpaceX's top priority
The surge in demand for AI computing has created a new direction for SpaceX. According to sources, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and several industry figures have proposed the idea of launching massive data centers into orbit. This model is expected to harness solar energy to power a giant computing system orbiting the Earth.
However, the idea has also met with skepticism from many engineers due to the technical challenges in building and deploying a solar-powered AI data center. Despite this, Musk seems increasingly obsessed with the goal of making SpaceX the first company to realize this project.
Such a leap forward would be difficult to achieve without massive capital. According to those familiar with the matter, placing data centers in space requires billions of dollars, and an IPO is a way to raise that money all at once. This is why the Tesla CEO changed his mind and accelerated plans to take the rocket manufacturer public.
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SpaceX hopes to go public to attract massive capital. Photo: Bloomberg . |
Besides space ambitions, another driving force may be directly related to Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI. Sources indicate that the South African billionaire sees SpaceX's IPO as a way for xAI to catch up with its competitors. The billionaire has a long-standing feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and the prospect of "outperforming" other companies in the industry may be the impetus behind Tesla's change of perspective.
According to the WSJ , SpaceX will soon select top banks for its initial public offering. Musk has also told those close to him that he wants to complete the IPO by July.
Elon Musk's sudden change of stance surprised many, as he had repeatedly complained about the experience of running a public company like Tesla. In the past, the billionaire has also had numerous troubles with regulators and courts, including issues related to compensation.
Urgent action
According to former employees, SpaceX has developed several technologies, such as computing nodes, which could be useful for AI satellite networks. By last fall, the company had made a breakthrough in its efforts to build and launch data centers into orbit.
Developing an orbital data center, a medium- or long-term goal, has become Musk's most urgent priority since mid-2025. Because building and launching thousands of satellites requires significant costs, SpaceX is viewing an IPO as the easiest way to raise tens of billions of dollars amid a somewhat deregulated US stock market.
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Elon Musk wants SpaceX to complete its IPO plan this year. Photo: Reuters . |
Conversely, xAI is still considered to lag behind competitors like OpenAI and Google's Gemini in terms of both revenue and user base. Some investors believe that SpaceX's initial public offering could become a major source of funding to boost xAI, while also benefiting SpaceX.
However, SpaceX's IPO path will not be easy. Before considering new fundraising plans, the company needs to get Starship up and running soon, as the data center satellites are optimally designed for this rocket. The vehicle has been undergoing flight testing for nearly three years but has not yet deployed operational payloads.
SpaceX plans to launch an upgraded version of Starship in an upcoming test flight.
Source: https://znews.vn/elon-musk-thay-doi-suy-nghi-post1622094.html
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