Elon Musk at SpaceX in Brownsville, Texas, May 27, 2025.<\/p>\n
Marvin Joseph | The Washington Post | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Friday’s hotly anticipated SpaceX public debut could prove a defining moment for capital markets \u2014 and be a “referendum” on Elon Musk’s leadership, according to market watchers. <\/p>\n
Musk’s eye-watering $1.75 trillion valuation target reflects a price-to-earnings ratio of almost 100-times, compared to around 20-25-times for chip giant Nvidia<\/a> and roughly 10-times for Apple<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n Nasdaq<\/a> has recently introduced rule changes to make it easier for SpaceX and other firms planning mega IPOs to list on the Nasdaq 100<\/a>, while S&P Global has refused<\/a> to make exceptions to allow for the group’s early entry into the S&P 500<\/a>.<\/p>\n What voting rights will Elon Musk retain?<\/p>\n But investors are also being asked to make exceptions, both on valuation and Musk’s insistence that he will retain an estimated 80-85% of SpaceX voting rights \u2013 something that has often deterred investors weighing stocks, even those of companies that \u2014 unlike SpaceX \u2014 have a history of consistent profits. <\/p>\n Matt Calkins, CEO of enterprise software company Appian, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Thursday that the IPO was “a\u00a0referendum on Elon and how much faith investors have in this individual entrepreneur.”<\/p>\n “I think they’ve got a lot, because he’s done a lot, and they’re\u00a0betting on his ability to open up new markets, but that is highly speculative.<\/p>\n “I wouldn’t want to invest [and] I wouldn’t want to guess either way on an IPO like this.”<\/p>\n “We’re\u00a0at an early stage where\u00a0there’s tremendous uncertainty, and a lot of the investments are\u00a0going to be based on personal belief. It’s just too early to be financially wise about things like that.”<\/p>\n Ben Ritchie, head of developed market equities at Aberdeen Investments, said in a Thursday note that the IPO will test investors’ “willingness to embrace a new model of public equity ownership: high valuation, limited governance rights, and faith in a founder-driven vision.”<\/p>\n He added: “That combination has worked before. But at this scale?”<\/p>\n