‘SpaceX will not go for IPO’, predicts ace investor Chamath Palihapitiya, says reverse merger with Tesla more likely
Chamath Palihapitiya, a former Facebook executive and a prominent investor, has predicted that Elon Musk’s aerospace venture SpaceX is unlikely to go for an initial public offering (IPO) amid speculation it will happen this year.
The CEO and Founder of Social Capital, known for its “blank check” companies, said on the All-In podcast that he believes SpaceX will go public through a reverse merger with Tesla, rather than an IPO.
“I don’t think SpaceX will go public, I think it will reverse the merger with Tesla, and I think Elon will use this as a moment to consolidate the control and power of his two seminal assets into a single cap table,” he said.
The comments were made on an episode of the podcast that aired the day before; Here he and two hosts, investors Jason Calacanis and David Sacks, discuss and predict major trends as well as developments in the technology industry for the year ahead.
What is a reverse merger and has Musk given any hints about it?
A reverse merger occurs when a private company becomes publicly traded by merging with an already public company, bypassing the costly and lengthy traditional IPO process to gain an IPO quickly.
Although Palihapitiya foresees the consolidation of Musk’s companies, the billionaire himself has not commented on the possibility of such a move recently.
It was also unclear from Palihapitiya’s statements whether he had knowledge of SpaceX’s specific plans or was merely speculating. While Palihapitiya is not known to be particularly close to Musk, his co-hosts Calacanis and Sacks have been closely associated with the SpaceX boss since his Paypal days. According to multiple reports, they were also involved in Elon Musk’s takeover and ownership of Twitter Inc.
Palihapitiya also previously predicted that SpaceX’s space internet initiative, Starlink, would go public in 2023, but the prediction did not come true.
Details about SpaceX’s IPO
In December last year, Elon Musk finally responded to reports claiming that SpaceX would go public in 2026. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the billionaire CEO said reports that his company was planning to go public were “true.”
Meanwhile, Bloomberg also reported that SpaceX is moving forward with plans for an IPO aimed at raising over $30 billion. The report stated that the transaction would be the largest listing of all time.
SpaceX’s management and advisors are reportedly pushing for a listing in mid-to-late 2026, but the timing of the IPO could change depending on market conditions and other factors, and one of the people said the timing could slip into 2027. Bloomberg reported.
