SpaceX: A Most Improbable Investment

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The initial public offering market, after a rather enthusiastic burst of activity in 2021, has settled down somewhat. It’s not that people have stopped starting companies, you understand; it’s just that the universe, in its infinite wisdom, decided a brief period of relative sanity was required. Consequently, several companies – mostly those involved in the frankly alarming field of artificial intelligence (AI) – are tentatively considering exposing themselves to the scrutiny of public markets. This, of course, involves forms. So many forms.

Recently, Elon Musk’s xAI, a company dedicated to thinking about thinking (a potentially infinite loop, when you consider it), merged with SpaceX. The resulting entity is, let’s be honest, rather large. This has led to the inevitable speculation about a potential IPO. An IPO of this magnitude would, naturally, attract a great deal of attention. A great deal. So much so, in fact, that it’s almost certain ordinary investors would find themselves, shall we say, politely excluded from the initial excitement. (This is often the way with excitement; it tends to be reserved for those who already have a great deal of everything else.)

But here’s a curious thing. You don’t actually need to wait for the official fanfare. Believe it or not, it is, in principle, possible to acquire a small, fractional ownership of Mr. Musk’s trillion-dollar empire right now. For a few hundred dollars. Which, when you consider the sheer scale of the endeavor, is a remarkably small sum. It’s like attempting to own the Atlantic Ocean by purchasing a thimbleful of seawater. The principle is sound, but the practical implications are… challenging.

What is the best way to invest in SpaceX?

To date, SpaceX has secured a rather impressive $11.9 billion in funding. Much of this comes from the usual suspects – venture capital firms and private equity, entities that generally operate on the principle of ‘more money than sense’ – but a surprising number of corporations have also taken a punt.

Perhaps the most recognizable name on the investor list is Alphabet (GOOGL 2.01%) (GOOG 2.01%), otherwise known as Google. They’ve been invested in SpaceX since 2015, participating in a $1 billion funding round. If you’re a retail investor – that is, a human being attempting to navigate the complexities of the financial world – investing in Alphabet is arguably the easiest, and possibly the least stressful, way to gain indirect exposure to SpaceX.

Alphabet, you see, is a remarkably diversified company. It dabbles in everything from advertising (convincing people they need things they don’t) to consumer electronics (shiny rectangles) and autonomous driving (cars that may or may not decide to drive into things). It even has a foothold in cloud computing (storing data in someone else’s computer) and, of course, space exploration, thanks to its ownership stake in SpaceX and AST SpaceMobile. (Which, incidentally, is attempting to provide mobile phone coverage from space. The logistics of that alone are enough to induce a headache.)

What ETFs own SpaceX?

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are essentially baskets of stocks. They allow investors to gain passive exposure to market themes and industry sectors without having to actually think about individual companies. Some ETFs, however, are rather more complex. They hold equity in private companies, in addition to publicly traded stocks. This is like adding a layer of extra complication to an already complicated situation.

Several ETFs currently hold positions in SpaceX, including Cathie Wood’s ARK Venture Fund and the XOVR ETF. The KraneShares Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF (AGIX 2.95%) also owns a slice of SpaceX, thanks to a prior investment in xAI. Bear in mind, however, that ETFs come with management fees. And, crucially, they contain lots of holdings. So you’re not exactly purchasing a direct stake in SpaceX; you’re buying a fractional share of a fund that also owns a tiny piece of SpaceX. It’s a bit like searching for a specific grain of sand on a beach. Theoretically possible, but profoundly impractical.

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Can you buy SpaceX in secondary markets?

If you happen to be an accredited investor – that is, someone with a sufficiently large income and/or net worth to be deemed ‘sensible’ by financial regulators – you may have access to secondary market platforms like Forge Global, EquityZen, or Hiive. These platforms facilitate transactions in the secondary market (off public exchanges) for those willing to assume the added risk of investing in a venture-backed company. (Risk, of course, being the inherent uncertainty of everything.)

Here’s a crucial detail: investing through these platforms doesn’t necessarily guarantee you’ll acquire a direct stake in SpaceX stock. More often than not, you’re buying a piece of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) or a company that owns equity in SpaceX. It’s a bit like buying a ticket to a raffle where the prize is a share in SpaceX. You might win, but the odds are… considerable.

The bottom line: Investing in SpaceX is both easy and hard

At the end of the day, acquiring shares in SpaceX directly remains remarkably difficult, regardless of your financial status. However, there are numerous, perfectly credible ways to invest in the broader space theme, all while owning indirect, passive exposure to SpaceX.

Those determined to buy SpaceX stock before the IPO might consider a more diversified (and considerably less expensive) approach through a combination of stocks and ETFs. After all, the universe is vast, and there are plenty of other interesting companies out there. And, frankly, worrying about the intricacies of pre-IPO stock purchases is likely to accelerate the aging process. A most improbable outcome, wouldn’t you agree?

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2026-03-20 23:13