Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to tap debt markets to raise $20 billion after record IPO: Report
SpaceX is reportedly planning to raise $20 billion through a bond sale as early as next week, according to a report from the Financial Times. The planned fundraising comes just days after trillionaire Elon Musk’s rocket company completed its blockbuster initial public offering (IPO).
The company also received a credit rating in the BBB range from three major rating agencies on Thursday; This is a development that will help reduce borrowing costs and increase investor interest.
Meanwhile, the newly listed firm has authorized Wall Street banks to offer fixed income deals to investors, the news publication reported, citing people familiar with the matter. One of the sources told the FT that during initial talks the 10-year debt proposal was expected to be priced at around 1.35 to 1.5 percentage points above US Treasuries.
Proceeds from bond sales will be used to repay the loan
According to Bloomberg news agency, the funds obtained through the bond sale will primarily be used to refinance the $20 billion bridge loan, which is scheduled to mature in September 2027. The AI-to-rockets company’s chief executive took out the loan in March this year after Musk merged debt-laden AI start-up xAI and social media platform X with the rocket company, another source told the FT.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to the news publication’s request for comment. The final pricing and transaction size of the bond sale will depend on market conditions, the sources added.
Regulatory filings filed ahead of the IPO show that the bridge loan represents the largest portion of the company’s long-term debt. As of March 31, SpaceX had approximately $29.1 billion in long-term debt on its books, with a large portion of that debt stemming from bridge facilities.
The planned bond issuance marks another important step for SpaceX, which aims to strengthen its balance sheet and secure long-term financing following one of the largest and most closely watched IPOs in recent market history, in which it raised $86 billion from retail and institutional investors.
SpaceX shares give up most of post-IPO gains as shares fall 20% from peak
Investors who bought SpaceX shares on the open market after the company’s listing last week have seen most of their paper profits wiped out following the sharp decline in the last two days. SpaceX shares closed down 3.6% at $184.98 on Thursday.
Following its IPO at $135 per share, SpaceX shares have been on the rise due to positive investor sentiment and, furthermore, excitement over the mega IPO, which pushed its shares above $225 in Tuesday’s session. But after reaching that high, shares fell nearly 20%, giving back most of their post-listing gains.
SpaceX ended Thursday’s trading session with a market capitalization of nearly $2.4 trillion, making it the world’s sixth-largest company.
Tech giants are tapping both debt and equity markets to finance AI investments
In recent weeks, major tech giants have moved to raise fresh capital through debt and equity markets to support growing AI ambitions such as building data centers as well as financing chip purchases and research initiatives.
Chip maker Nvidia sold $25 billion of investable debt this week in its first bond sale in five years, the FT reported. Google increased the size of its record equity capital increase to $85 billion this month. Claude maker Anthropic has also tapped private lending groups Blackstone and Apollo for a $35 billion debt package ahead of its highly anticipated IPO.
SpaceX is also investing heavily in artificial intelligence. The company’s high valuation is partly based on expectations for its AI business, which reported a loss of $6.4 billion in 2025 but is projected to target a total addressable market worth $26.5 trillion, the news release said.
