New York, May 28, 2026, 09:09 (EDT)
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, said Thursday the company will lease its Colossus AI training clusters to Anthropic, but just for six months—a detail that addresses one of the larger uncertainties over its upcoming IPO. Musk posted on X that SpaceX pushed for the limited term, although he said there’s a chance the arrangement could stretch on for years.
Timing’s key here. SpaceX’s S-1 — that main prospectus companies hand over before going public — shifts Musk’s operation from a private affair to a high-stakes public testbed for rockets, satellite internet, and AI, all bundled together. Bloomberg Tax called the filing a rare window into SpaceX’s books before what’s expected to be a record IPO; the SEC shows they accepted the S-1 on May 20.
SpaceX is targeting a Nasdaq debut as soon as June 12, Reuters reported, with a share sale possibly happening the day before, on June 11. The company is expected to pursue an estimated $75 billion raise at an eye-popping $1.75 trillion valuation. Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs are leading the deal as bookrunners.
Investors now face a puzzle: Are Anthropic’s monthly outlays more like long-term revenue or just short-term capacity rentals? The contract—publicly pegged at $1.25 billion per month until May 2029—comes with a catch. Reuters noted that either party can walk away on 90 days’ notice. Musk, for his part, promised Anthropic a “reasonable off-ramp” if SpaceX needs those resources back. Reuters
The filing spells out what sparked the interest: Starlink, the satellite-internet arm of SpaceX, pulled in a $1.19 billion operating profit during the first quarter. Even so, the company posted an operating loss of $1.94 billion against $4.69 billion in revenue. On the AI front, operations bled $2.47 billion, with revenue at just $818 million.
Before the roadshow, SpaceX offered investors a front-row seat to its engineering push. On May 22, the latest Starship test sent up mock satellites and managed a controlled splashdown. The Super Heavy booster, though, didn’t stick the landing—ending up tumbling into the Gulf of Mexico instead of pulling off its planned recovery. “Investors saw a vehicle ‘moving in the right direction,’” said SmartTech Research CEO Mark Vena. For James Bruegger at Seraphim Space, “full reusability is the key.” Reuters
The risk case sticks out. Anthropic’s lease might not hold, Starship has yet to show it can pull off dependable, full-scale reuse, and the AI arm keeps draining money while SpaceX pitches investors on unproven compute and space projects. “The latest launch cut the odds Starship was just circling failure,” said Jesse Nacht, research associate at MarketVector Indexes. “But execution risk is still on the table.” Reuters
Index providers aren’t waiting around for the debut. On May 26, FTSE Russell announced plans to let large IPOs into Russell U.S. indexes just five trading days after launch, provided they still meet minimum free-float and voting-rights requirements. Free float refers to the shares actually available for investors to buy and sell.
Fund managers aren’t waiting around. According to analysts cited by Reuters, big mutual funds and passive index funds have started building cash positions, with some trimming large-cap names to free up space for IPOs like SpaceX. John Flood at Goldman Sachs said the spotlight is now squarely on the flood of major IPOs ahead.
Public space stocks have already felt the impact. On Wednesday, Reuters noted a rally in shares linked to the sector, with investors turning to Rocket Lab and Planet Labs as stand-ins for the fresh buzz around space companies. Peter Andersen at Andersen Capital Management described the IPO as a catalyst that “focus[ed] the investment community” on space travel and related tech. Reuters
SpaceX isn’t sticking to the usual post-IPO lock-up script. The company’s filing reveals a staggered approach, with some shares able to trade before the typical six-month window closes. Musk himself is locked in for 366 days. He keeps a commanding 85.1% of voting power and controls 12.3% of Class A economic interest, according to the document.
The pitch to buyers isn’t limited to reusable rockets and Starlink’s steady cash flow anymore. There’s also the wager that Musk can convert expensive AI infrastructure into lasting revenue, all while sustaining enough launch momentum to maintain the broader narrative. The next test for the market arrives ahead of liftoff: will public investors see the short lease as a red flag, a smart move, or possibly both?
