SpaceX announces an IPO, supercharging extraterrestrial markets

After several additional SpaceX launches of its Starship system prove the viability and rapid turnaround capabilities of this new super-sized launch vehicle, the company moves to IPO, resulting in the largest valuation for a newly listed company of all time, well north of USD 1 trillion. SpaceX announces an aggressive launch schedule that can deliver up to a hundredfold the previous annual payload capacity to low Earth orbit (LEO). Furthermore, the company opens bookings for payloads to higher Earth orbits, lunar orbit, and even lunar and Mars landings for years ahead, soon touting trillions of dollars in reservation bookings.

Included in SpaceX’s plans are the launch and stationing of starship refueling tankers in Earth orbit that allow massive payload deliveries to the Moon in 2027 and to Mars in the following years, with sufficient capacity to build large-scale lunar and Martian bases. Elon Musk declares he will join the pioneering manned mission to Mars in the January 2029 launch window. Separately, an unmanned Mars launch set for late 2026 will land communications and other technical assets on the Red Planet to establish forward operations and demarcate Martian territory that Musk claims as a sovereign country with zero income, property, or other taxes. He announces the intent to “off-planet” Tesla, X, and SpaceX headquarters to Mars.

The SpaceX IPO supercharges a new race to build entirely new space-based industries that would benefit from micro- and zero gravity conditions. These include crystal-growing for myriad semiconductor and biopharma applications, as well as the 3D bioprinting industry as bioprinters can print onto superstructures that don’t sag due to gravity during their creation. On the Moon, an international consortium maps 25% of the lunar surface, dividing it up into blocks that are auctioned off to the highest bidder. Lunar plots and mineral rights down to one square meter set off a wild NFT-like bidding craze that soars – and then crashes – once people realize they are paying more than for prime urban real estate on Earth.

The true extraterrestrial economy is born.

Market impact: Rocket companies join the fun, Teledyne, Microchip technology