Key insights
- SpaceX's potential IPO, estimated at a $1.75 trillion valuation, is generating excitement. The article discusses pre-IPO investment options like private markets, specialized ETFs (XOVR, DXYZ), and SPVs, highlighting their limitations (low liquidity, high fees). Direct SPV access is available in Europe via Robinhood, but not yet in the US. The article suggests waiting for the official IPO for broader retail participation.
SpaceX, the aerospace and AI company founded by Elon Musk, filed for its IPO last month. It's expected to go public within the next few months, and it's reportedly seeking a whopping valuation of $1.75 trillion -- which would make it the world's largest IPO.
Before SpaceX goes public, the only ways to invest in the company are through private secondary marketplaces for accredited investors, or through specialized funds and ETFs -- such as the ERShares Private-Public Crossover ETF (XOVR 0.16%) or Destiny Tech100 ETF (DXYZ +9.90%) -- that are exposed to SpaceX through special purpose vehicles (SPVs).
However, private secondary marketplaces have low liquidity, high fees, and long settlement times. You also need a high net worth to qualify as an accredited investor. The private fund ETFs also charge high fees and only allocate a portion of their portfolios to SpaceX. SPVs are also tokenized equivalents of SpaceX's private shares, not actual shares of the company.
If you're in Europe, you can directly buy SpaceX's SPVs on Robinhood (HOOD 3.50%). However, Robinhood isn't authorized to offer those SPVs in the U.S. market yet.
If you don't want to go through private markets, SPVs, or ETFs, then you'll need to wait for SpaceX's official IPO to be offered through traditional brokerages. SpaceX could reportedly offer 20%-30% of its shares to retail investors through those brokerages, so your best bet might be to wait for its official market debut rather than those shaky backdoor investments.