The decision to go public would be driven by the spectacular growth of Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet service, notably thanks to its plans for direct-to-cell connections and advances in its Starship program, designed for lunar and Martian missions.

Talks with banks have reportedly already begun with a view to launching the public offering around June or July 2026, the source said, requesting anonymity due to the confidentiality of the information. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The announcement comes as the IPO market is seeing a rebound in 2025 after three years of slowdowns. Wall Street executives expect this momentum to continue in 2026, driven by a wave of major companies ready to tap investors.

A highly anticipated listing

"SpaceX represents one of the most exciting opportunities in the global IPO market and has been on many investors' wish lists for years," said Samuel Kerr, head of capital markets at Mergermarket. He noted that the space sector is a genuine growth industry at the intersection of defense imperatives, the proliferation of satellites, and technological infrastructure, such as data centers in orbit.

So far, many startups have preferred to stay private, while raising funds in private markets. A listing by a player of SpaceX's scale could encourage others to follow suit. The company is currently the world's second most valuable private startup - after OpenAI - according to Crunchbase data. OpenAI and its rival Anthropic are also considering IPOs in 2026.

"If all these deals come to fruition, the US IPO market could experience a true renaissance, the early signs of which are already visible this year," Kerr added.

The news of this possible IPO comes days after a press report mentioned a secondary share sale valuing SpaceX at $800bn, a claim Musk has called inaccurate.

To date, the only IPO to exceed a $1 trillion valuation is that of Saudi oil giant Aramco, listed in December 2019 with an estimated market capitalization of $1.7 trillion.

SpaceX plans to use the funds raised to develop space-based data centers, including purchasing the chips needed to run them, according to Bloomberg News, which first reported the contours of the proposed deal.

Space race

Amid a resurgence of private investment in space, several billionaires and companies are competing in this new arena. Beyond SpaceX, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is also committing substantial capital to rockets, satellites and lunar projects. NASA, increasingly relying on commercial partnerships, and rising defense budgets is helping make the space industry a strategic, technological, and economic priority.

Even so, some analysts question Elon Musk's ability to lead multiple publicly traded companies each worth more than $1 trillion at the same time.

"SpaceX could well be one of the most divisive stocks to hit the markets in years," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. "If SpaceX goes public, pressure will mount for Musk to choose between Tesla and SpaceX. It is hard to imagine a single individual managing two companies of that magnitude simultaneously."