SpaceX Heads for June Listing, Musk’s Control Stays Strong

2026-05-16

SpaceX Eyes June IPO, Musk Keeps Strong Control

Listing Plan and Share Structure

U.S. SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, plans to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) in June. It is expected to announce its listing plan as early as next week, and a prospectus for its application to list on the Nasdaq market may be released as soon as the 20th. The company is aiming for a market value of around $1.75 trillion (about ¥276 trillion) and is considering a listing as early as June 12.

Musk founded the company in 2002 and serves as chief executive officer (CEO). It has focused on rocket launches and satellite communications, but in recent years it has been moving to combine Musk’s multiple businesses, enter semiconductors and model development, and seek a listing as an AI stock.

Musk’s Total Control

According to Reuters, Musk holds just over 40% of SpaceX shares and controls 80% of the voting rights. The company will issue common “Class A” shares for the public and “Class B” shares with super-voting rights that can be held only by Musk and related parties, with Class B carrying 10 times the voting power of Class A. The structure is designed to leave Musk’s influence strong even after listing.

The company will also adopt a system in which the CEO’s appointment or dismissal is decided not by normal board procedures, but solely by a vote of Class B shareholders. In effect, Musk would be impossible to remove. Even Meta, known as an example of founder control, gives CEO Mark Zuckerberg only about 60% of the voting power, while SpaceX would grant Musk even greater control.

Tesla Experience Behind It

The background to Musk’s insistence on strong governance rights is his experience at electric vehicle giant Tesla. Tesla went public in 2010 while continuing to post losses, but because there was another founder, Musk’s control was relatively weak. His voting rights remained in the low teens, and he has complained that stability in management requires raising that to 25%.

Corporate governance was also affected by a Delaware court in the eastern United States temporarily rejecting a massive performance-based compensation package. A 2024 trial-court ruling upheld the claim of some shareholders regarding a total $55 billion stock compensation package that had already been approved at Tesla’s shareholder meeting. The plaintiffs owned just nine Tesla shares.

Musk pushed back and moved the registrations of Tesla and SpaceX to Texas in the southern United States. At SpaceX, based on company law, the right to file lawsuits is limited to holders of at least 3% of the shares.

Market Value and Market Impact

Musk has also brought a performance-linked compensation system to SpaceX. According to Reuters, he would receive 60 million shares if the company reaches a market value of $6.6 trillion and realizes a space data center, and 200 million shares if it reaches $7.5 trillion and achieves the settlement of 1 million people on Mars.

Founder-led governance is also seen as helping long-term investment in industries where technological innovation moves quickly. On the other hand, SpaceX is expected to have a market value of more than $1 trillion at the time of listing, and an early inclusion in major stock indexes is being considered. There are concerns that institutional investors would be forced to hold the stock automatically and be exposed to governance risks driven by Musk.

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