SpaceX is positioning itself to reinforce Elon Musk’s dominance following its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) by issuing super-voting shares to him and a select group of insiders, which will carry greater voting power than those held by other investors, as revealed in segments of the company’s IPO filing reviewed by Reuters.
This prospectus, which was submitted confidentially earlier this month, sheds light on SpaceX’s financial status and governance structure.
After the IPO is finalized, Musk will continue in his roles as chief executive officer, chief technical officer, and chairman of the company’s nine-member board.
Despite receiving a salary of $54,080 last year, Musk is anticipated to accrue billions in equity following the public offering.
SpaceX aims for a valuation of approximately $1.75 trillion, seeking to raise $75 billion, which would establish it as the largest IPO in history.
Gwynne Shotwell, the president and chief operating officer, received a total compensation of $85.8 million last year, while chief financial officer Bret Johnsen earned $9.8 million.
In pursuit of its IPO goals, several executives are engaging with Wall Street analysts through a series of meetings scheduled for this week, beginning with a briefing at SpaceX’s Starbase launch site in Boca Chica, Texas.
The excerpts from the filing indicate that SpaceX will implement a dual-class share structure, granting Class B shareholders ten votes each, thereby consolidating control with Musk and a few other insiders. In contrast, Class A shares available to the public will offer just one vote each.
The filing also includes clauses that may restrict shareholders’ influence over board elections and limit their ability to pursue certain legal actions, mandating arbitration for disputes and imposing restrictions on where such disputes can be filed.
While this structure is typical for founder-led tech companies, it can diminish the ability of public shareholders to impact corporate strategy or challenge the management team.
The prospectus provides an initial overview of SpaceX’s financial performance, particularly after Musk’s integration of the rocket manufacturer with his social media and AI enterprise, xAI, this year.
By the end of 2025, the combined entity reported approximately $24.8 billion in cash, with total assets amounting to $92 billion and liabilities standing at $50.8 billion.
SpaceX’s satellite internet venture, Starlink, generated substantial profits last year, which helped to mitigate significant losses from the acquisition of Musk’s social media and AI firm.
In 2025, SpaceX recorded a consolidated loss of $4.94 billion on revenues of $18.67 billion, a notable downturn from a profit of $791 million and revenues of $14.02 billion the previous year. The company also reported a loss of $4.63 billion on revenues of $10.4 billion in 2023.
The increase in losses can be attributed to a nearly fivefold rise in capital expenditures over two years, reaching $20.74 billion last year, with more than half of that amount directed towards AI development.
Starlink’s successful satellite internet service is significantly subsidizing these expenditures, contributing $4.42 billion in operating profit, despite accounting for less than 25% of the total capital spending.
Investment in the AI sector surged to $12.7 billion from $5.6 billion the previous year, contributing to SpaceX’s overall capital expenditures exceeding $20.7 billion, which is more than double that of the previous year.
This figure remains modest compared to the spending of major tech companies on AI infrastructure. For instance, Meta, with a similar market capitalization of about $1.7 trillion, reported capital expenditures of $72 billion in 2025.
Some details of the financials were previously reported by The Information.
SpaceX did not provide an immediate response to requests for comment.
