Excerpts from SpaceX's IPO filing reveal that the company intends to strengthen founder Elon Musk's control following its public offering by granting him and a small group of insiders super-voting shares, which will carry greater weight than those held by other investors.
The prospectus, confidentially submitted this month, provides updated details on SpaceX's financial status and corporate governance.
Upon completion of the listing, Musk will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and Chairman of SpaceX's nine-member board.
According to the excerpts, although Musk's compensation at SpaceX last year was only $54,080, he is set to receive substantial equity benefits after the company goes public.
SpaceX aims to achieve a valuation of approximately $1.75 trillion by raising $75 billion, which would make it the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history.
Documents indicate that SpaceX's President and Chief Operating Officer, Gwynne Shotwell, received total compensation of $85.8 million last year, while Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen's compensation was $9.8 million.
The filing shows that SpaceX will adopt a dual-class share structure. Class B shareholders will have 10 votes per share, with voting power concentrated in the hands of Musk and a few other insiders; Class A shares sold to public investors will carry only one vote per share.
The documents also outline provisions that may limit shareholders' ability to influence board elections or initiate certain legal actions, forcing disputes into arbitration and restricting litigation venues.
While this structure is common among founder-led technology companies, it restricts public shareholders' capacity to influence corporate strategy or challenge management.
This filing offers investors their first glimpse into SpaceX's financial condition, particularly following Musk's merger of the rocket manufacturer with his social media and artificial intelligence company, xAI, earlier this year.
The merged company held approximately $24.8 billion in cash at the end of 2025, with total assets of $92 billion and total liabilities of $50.8 billion.
Excerpts from the filing indicate that its satellite internet business, Starlink, generated billions of dollars in profit last year, helping to offset significant losses inherited from the acquisition of Musk's social media and AI firm, xAI, this year.
Due to substantial investments in xAI's AI infrastructure, SpaceX shifted from profit to loss in 2025, reporting revenue of $18.67 billion and a loss of $4.94 billion. In the previous year, the company reported revenue of $14.02 billion and a profit of $791 million.
In 2023, the company reported revenue of $10.4 billion and a loss of $4.63 billion.
AI Expenditure
SpaceX's losses stem from its capital expenditures, which grew nearly fivefold over two years, reaching $20.74 billion last year, with more than half allocated to artificial intelligence.
The company's successful Starlink satellite internet service subsidized much of this spending, generating $4.42 billion in operating profit, though this accounted for less than a quarter of its total capital expenditure.
Capital expenditure in the AI sector surged from $5.6 billion the previous year to $12.7 billion, pushing SpaceX's total capital expenditure above $20.7 billion, more than double the prior year's amount.
However, this still represents only a fraction of the spending by major technology companies on AI infrastructure: Meta Platforms, Inc., which has a market capitalization similar to SpaceX, reported capital expenditure of $72 billion in 2025.