The rocket-fueled rise of Elon Musk’s company SpaceX appears to be stalling out, with the firm planning to sell shares next month in a deal that prices them around the same level as this summer, The Post has learned.
The closely held company — whose satellite-launching Starlink unit has reportedly struggled to meet profit goals despite rampant growth — is planning to launch a tender offer in December valuing SpaceX at around $150 billion, the same price tag it was assigned in a July tender offer, according to reports.
SpaceX’s July tender, which raised $750 million in cash, according to Bloomberg, followed a similar deal in January that also had raised $750 million, but at a $137 billion valuation.
Terms of that tender had represented a steady climb from May 2022, when SpaceX was valued at $125 billion.
Launching a tender offer next month appears to confirm that Musk is not considering a near-term IPO for its Starlink satellite division.
Bloomberg this month reported that Musk was discussing a possible Starlink IPO for as early as late 2024.
Musk on Nov. 15 posted on his X platform that reports of him considering a Starlink IPO are “false.”
Meanwhile, there are reasons Musk may not be looking for an increased SpaceX valuation.
“Investors are still unsure about the direction of Starlink,” one of the sources with knowledge of the tender said, adding that Starlink accounts for most of SpaceX’s value.
Starlink in 2022 reported $1.4 billion in revenue and a loss for the year, according to a September Wall Street Journal story that revealed how Starlink has lagged investor expectations.
In 2015, SpaceX forecast that Starlink would have 20 million customers. In 2022, it had slightly more than one million.
Musk gave a more upbeat take on financials in a Nov. 2 post on his X platform.
“Excited to announce that Starlink has achieved breakeven cash flow! Excellent work by a great team. Starlink is also now a majority of all active satellites and will have launched a a majority of all satellites cumulatively from Earth by next year.”
Nevertheless, SpaceX isn’t currently planning to raise the valuation in next month’s tender, insiders said.
By staying conservative, SpaceX can attract investors without avoid answering uncomfortable questions, sources added.
“If anything, there is confusion,” the source said.
SpaceX’s new Starship rocket, designed for trips to the Moon and Mars, took off from Texas on Nov. 18 and reached space before both the booster and the spacecraft were lost in a pair of explosions minutes into the test flight.
Spokespeople for SpaceX and Musk did not return calls.
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