You Can Invest in SpaceX Before Its IPO — but Should You?

Why It Matters

Early access offers potential upside, but lack of transparency and high leverage could impair returns, making thorough risk assessment essential for the market.

Key Takeaways

• Funds offer indirect SpaceX exposure before IPO
• Valuation sits near $1.25 trillion
• Financial opacity hampers investor due diligence
• Musk's $18 billion debt adds leverage risk
• Potential refinancing could alter company’s capital structure

Pulse Analysis

Private‑market vehicles have proliferated, allowing accredited investors to buy shares of SpaceX without waiting for an IPO. Secondary‑market platforms match sellers of founder‑stock with funds that package the exposure into ETFs or closed‑end structures, delivering liquidity that was once impossible for a privately held aerospace giant. These products appeal to institutional portfolios seeking growth‑oriented alternatives, yet they often carry higher fees and limited reporting compared with public equities, meaning investors must weigh convenience against cost and information gaps.

The core challenge lies in SpaceX’s financial opacity. Musk’s recent acquisition of xAI and the lingering $18 billion debt from the Twitter deal obscure cash‑flow visibility and raise questions about capital allocation. Traditional metrics such as earnings or free cash flow are scarce, forcing analysts to rely on launch cadence, contract backlog and satellite revenue estimates. This lack of granular data amplifies valuation risk; a $1.25 trillion price tag may be inflated if debt servicing pressures intensify or if the company’s ambitious Starship timeline stalls.

Looking ahead, a potential refinancing plan could reshape SpaceX’s balance sheet, possibly reducing leverage and improving investor confidence ahead of a future IPO. Market participants should monitor Bloomberg‑reported negotiations, as any debt reduction would affect equity dilution and pricing expectations. Until a public offering materializes, investors must balance the allure of early participation against the uncertainties of private‑company governance, limited disclosure, and the broader macro‑economic environment that influences high‑growth, capital‑intensive firms like SpaceX.

You can invest in SpaceX before its IPO — but should you?

Various funds promise exposure to SpaceX and other hot private companies, but investors should be aware of the risks and nuances

Published: Feb. 18, 2026 at 12:06 p.m. ET

Author: William Gavin – tech reporter for MarketWatch, based in New York

---

Those who want to invest in SpaceX can already do so through private secondary markets, ETFs and more — but there are risks to consider.

You don’t have to wait until SpaceX goes public to own a piece of Elon Musk’s rocket maker. But investors considering investing in one of the funds with current exposure to the roughly $1.25 trillion company should be mindful of the risks.

Chief among them is that it can be difficult to get an understanding of SpaceX’s finances. That was the case even before SpaceX acquired xAI — Musk’s cash‑burning artificial‑intelligence startup — in a transaction that has only further muddied the company’s financial picture. Musk’s bankers are reportedly working on a financing plan that could trim some of the nearly $18 billion in debt from his acquisition of Twitter and launch of xAI, according to Bloomberg News.