Nyt: SpaceX valued at 800 billion, would be the world's first private company

SpaceX, the space company of Elon Musk, is on its way to being valued at 800 billion. The New York Times writes that. An internal stock sale at $421 per share would make SpaceX the most valuable private company in the world, surpassing the artificial intelligence company OpenAI, currently valued at about $500 billion. The rocket and satellite company told employees on Friday, 12 December, that it would buy internal shares in a deal that would value it at around $800 billion, and said it was preparing for a potential initial public offering next year.

In a letter to employees, Bret Johnsen, financial director of SpaceX, said that the company intends to buy $2.56 billion of shares from shareholders at $421 per share, almost double the previous internal share price. In the letter, obtained by the New York Times, Mr Johnsen also hinted at a possible public offering. "Whether it will actually happen, when it will happen and at what valuation are still highly uncertain, but the thinking is that if we execute brilliantly and the markets cooperate, a public offering could raise a significant amount of capital," he wrote.