Billionaire Elon Musk took to his social media site X (formerly Twitter), to clarify belief that his rockets and satellites company SpaceX is being subsidised by the government space agency NASA.
In a post thread of X, the Tesla, SpaceX, and Starlink owner said that NASA will comprise only 5% of the rocket maker's revenues next year, in 2026.
SpaceX got NASA contracts for this reason, says Elon Musk
“While I have great fondness for NASA, they will constitute less than 5% of our (SpaceX's) revenue next year. Commercial Starlink is by far our largest contributor to revenue,” he stated.
The world's richest man also addressed claims that SpaceX is subsidised by the US government-run space agency, adding, “Some people have claimed that SpaceX gets “subsidized” by NASA. This is absolutely false.”
The reason according to Elon Musk? “The SpaceX team won the NASA contracts because we offered the best product at the lowest price. BOTH best product AND lowest cost. With regard to astronaut transport, SpaceX is currently the only option that passes NASA safety standards,” he added.
No $800 billion valuation for SpaceX, says Elon Musk
In the same thread post, Elon Musk also denied that SpaceX is raising $800 billion from investors, writing, “There has been a lot of press claiming SpaceX is raising money at $800 billion, which is not accurate. SpaceX has been cash flow positive for many years and does periodic stock buybacks twice a year to provide liquidity for employees and investors.”
“Valuation increments are a function of progress with Starship and Starlink and securing global direct-to-cell spectrum that greatly increases our addressable market. And one other thing that is arguably most significant by far,” he added.
Notably, in an earlier report, Bloomberg News cited sources to report that SpaceX is preparing to sell insider shares in a transaction that would value the firm as much as $800 billion. Such a sale would allow some investors and employees to cash in on some of their holding, it added.
Later, The Information on 5 December cited two sources told the publication that SpaceX is looking to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) for the company, which also owns Starlink, in second half of 2026.
(With inputs from Agencies)
