The race to space exploration has been heating up, with Elon Musk's SpaceX making significant strides in the sector. The private company is valued at approximately $150 billion after a recent share sale by investors. Musk is speculated to own roughly 44% of the company.
The company reached an agreement with both new and existing investors to offer up to $750 million in stock from insiders at a price of $81 per share last month, valuing it at approximately $140 billion, according to a document sent by SpaceX Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen.
The latest share price reflects a rise of approximately 5% compared to its previous secondary sale at $77 per share. But Musk does not "anticipate needing to raise funding in the near future" and is expected to opt for secondary sales to bolster and incentivize employee and insider ownership in the company.
"To my knowledge, we do not need to raise incremental funding for SpaceX," the billionaire said in April.
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SpaceX: Latest Unicorn In Space Exploration
SpaceX remains one of the world's most valuable private companies with a roughly $150 billion valuation. While a private company is stated to have achieved unicorn status when its valuation crosses the $1 billion mark, SpaceX's impressive market valuation has earned the company the prestigious title of a "centicorn" or "hectocorn," which refers to an enterprise worth $1 billion 100 times over.
The rise of private billion-dollar unicorns has spurred a recent trend in retail investors as well. When SpaceX does eventually IPO, investors will have made hundreds of billions. But retail investors have been largely excluded from investors. This has spurred an uptick in retail investors investing in startups on platforms like StartEngine, including investing tens of millions in StartEngine itself.
Unlike major competitors such as Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin or space exploration company Virgin Galactic, which focus on commercializing space travel, SpaceX's operations have been centered around satellite launches. Back in June, the company accomplished its 200th successful landing of an orbital rocket booster and has conducted 47 launches this year, boasting an average of one launch every four days and giving it a near-monopoly in the U.S. satellite launch market.
Impressive Product Line
To date, SpaceX has successfully deployed close to 5,000 Starlink internet satellites. In less than three years since its launch, the service has attracted over 1.5 million subscribers, a remarkable growth trajectory. SpaceX anticipates profitability for Starlink in 2023, as it achieved a cash-flow-positive quarter last year. The company also recently secured a Pentagon contract to offer Starlink service in Ukraine.
The company is working on developing its next-generation Starship rocket after the success of the first Starship flight.
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"As for the dramatic first fully stacked Starship rocket launch on April 20, the outcome was roughly in what I expected — and maybe slightly exceeding my expectations," Musk said.
The SpaceX CEO estimates the company will allocate approximately $2 billion toward the vehicle's advancement this year, stating, "My expectation for the next flight would be to reach orbit."
Musk estimated the likelihood of achieving orbit with a Starship flight in 2023 to be around 80%. But SpaceX's Starship has a "100% chance of reaching orbit within 12 months," Musk said.
The second Starship launch is awaiting approval from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The launch might take some time to materialize, as the FAA is embroiled in an environmental lawsuit concerning its regulatory approach to SpaceX's Starship.
Billion-Dollar Prospects
In 2021, SpaceX landed a contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop the federal agency's crewed lunar lander. SpaceX is expected to aid NASA's $2.89 billion human spaceflight program in establishing a "sustainable human landing system to the moon," according to NASA's human spaceflight program leader Kathy Lueders.
Musk also has outstanding private commercial contracts with billionaire space enthusiasts Jared Issacman, Yusaku Maezawa, and Dennis Tito, for seats in the upcoming viable Starship flights.
SpaceX IPO Skepticism
Despite its hetercorn status, it doesn't appear that Musk will take his company public anytime soon. "I'm not sure exactly when that [initial public offering] is, but maybe it will be like — I don't know, just guessing — three or four years from now," Musk said last year.
He further added that "being public is definitely an invitation to pain," as public markets can "really pistol-whip you if you don't meet expectations."
Nonetheless, Musk anticipates a SpaceX IPO after Startlink has an established revenue generation stream.
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