SpaceX IPO filing exposes deep financial ties between Musk companies
The rocket manufacturer’s S-1 registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission details extensive commercial interdependencies with Tesla, xAI, and X, alongside significant cryptocurrency holdings and complex infrastructure financing arrangements.
SpaceX has filed its initial public offering documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, disclosing extensive commercial and financial interconnections within Elon Musk’s business empire. The nearly 400-page registration statement reveals that SpaceX and its subsidiary xAI purchased approximately $650 million in goods and services from Tesla in the previous year. This includes $506 million in Megapack battery systems and $131 million in Cybertrucks, a purchase of stainless-steel vehicles at suggested retail prices that would equate to more than 1,000 units.
The filing also highlights a multibillion-dollar joint chip-manufacturing venture, the Terafab, and a solar factory project to supply hardware for SpaceX's orbital AI data centres. Tesla is building a solar factory aiming for a 100-gigawatt-per-year domestic manufacturing target to supply custom photovoltaic hardware for SpaceX’s planned constellation of orbital AI data centres. Additionally, Tesla paid $4 million for advertising on X in 2025, while SpaceX and xAI made lease payments to Musk Industries LLC, a private company owned by Musk.
SpaceX disclosed over $20 billion in related-party AI infrastructure lease obligations tied to Valor Equity Partners, a private investment firm whose founder sits on SpaceX’s board. The company recorded payments of $885 million under the Valor Equity Partners arrangements in 2025, with a further $857 million paid in the first two months of 2026. Some of the Valor AI infrastructure lease transactions were classified as "failed sale-leaseback" arrangements, requiring SpaceX to record billions of dollars in associated obligations as debt on its balance sheet.
Tesla holds nearly 19 million shares of SpaceX Class A stock, representing less than 1% ownership post-IPO, following a $2 billion investment earlier this year. The filing also revealed aircraft-sharing arrangements involving Tesla and Musk personally, along with security payments to a private company owned by Musk. The Boring Company performed construction work in Texas for SpaceX, further illustrating the operational links across Musk-affiliated entities.
SpaceX targets a valuation of approximately $1.75 trillion for its initial public offering. The company disclosed a Bitcoin position valued at approximately $1.45 billion as of 31 December, holding 18,712 Bitcoin. The disclosures come as investors increasingly scrutinize governance, capital allocation, and the overlap among Musk-controlled companies as SpaceX expands beyond rockets and satellite internet into AI infrastructure and computing.
