What is left of Musk, who aimed to achieve a $1.5 trillion goal?

Elon Musk seems to be running out of time in the winter of 2025. SpaceX’s new internal stock sale valued the company at $800 billion. The company, preparing for an IPO in 2026, plans to raise over $30 billion. Musk’s main dream — to increase SpaceX’s valuation to $1.5 trillion — has now shifted from a distant goal to a real-time objective.

If this happens, it will surpass Saudi Aramco’s record-breaking IPO in 2019 and become the largest in history. For Musk, it will also mean earning the first trillion-dollar billionaire title in human history.

But amid this very magical moment, one question arises: what kind of violence was committed to fall into this abyss and reach the sea drop?

No one believed in a certain field that went to the end

23 years ago, SpaceX was just a “long shot” under the watchful eyes of giants like Boeing and Lockheed Martin. A person who could collapse at any moment. But in 2001, 30-year-old Musk thought differently.

Instead of cashing out from PayPal and remaining an investor in Silicon Valley, he went to Russia to buy a Dnepr rocket. The result — a Russian designer spat in his face. “You are a boy who doesn’t understand this,” they said, and Musk returned empty-handed.

His companions on the plane were disappointed. However, Musk was working with small numbers on his computer. After a while, he turned around and showed the screen: “Hey, I think we can build this ourselves.”

That year, China had just launched astronauts, and space exploration was considered only a game of states.

Explosion, analysis, explosion again

2002, an old 75,000-square-foot room on the outskirts of Los Angeles was converted into a SpaceX factory. Musk invested $100 million into it. But he faced a key issue in the space sector: without a billion dollars, you can’t win.

2006 — Falcon 1 launch site. After 25 seconds, the rocket exploded.
2007 — Second launch. Again unsuccessful.
2008 — Third launch. The first and second stages collided. Engineers stayed awake, suppliers demanded cash, newspapers and magazines paid attention.

The most terrifying — the money ran out. Tesla was on the brink of bankruptcy, and Musk’s personal life was shattered. If the fourth attempt also failed, the company would be disbanded, and Musk would be left behind.

But at that moment, the legendary heroes Armstrong and Cernan, childhood idols, openly told him: “Your project has no chance.” Musk held his hand in front of the camera and suppressed tears. When the rocket exploded, he didn’t cry, but the mockery of his heroes — he cried then.

The rocket that must return

September 28, 2008. Falcon 1 launched. This time it didn’t explode. After 9 minutes, the particles successfully reached their trajectory.

“Success!” Cheers and joy in the control room, Musk’s brother Kimbal was crying. SpaceX became the first private space company in the world to launch a rocket into orbit.

On December 22, NASA called Musk. A $1.6 billion contract. Sending 12 cargoes to the International Space Station. “I love NASA,” Musk said, and exchanged his badge for “ilovenasa.”

But the real decision that followed was: “The rocket must be reusable.”

Experts: “Impossible!”
Musk: “If an airplane is used once and discarded, no one can go far. If a rocket isn’t reusable, space exploration will always remain a minority.”

These are the first principles. On December 21, 2015, Falcon 9 flew with 11 satellites, and the first stage booster returned vertically to a landing site in Florida. The ancient rules of the space industry were challenged.

The power of space engineering over money

Musk took a different approach for Starship. The industry calls it “carbon fiber,” but Musk sat down with Excel and did calculations:

Carbon fiber: $135 per kilogram.
Stainless steel: $3 per kilogram.

“It will be heavy,” engineers said.
“But the operating temperature!” Musk replied. “Steel withstands 1400 degrees and is well-insulated from heat. The total weight is the same, but the cost is 40 times cheaper.”

That’s why he set up a tent in the Texas desert, built a water tower similar to the one, and started welding SpaceX rockets. If it explodes — just patch it up, weld again the next day. The first principle — this is SpaceX’s secret to competition.

Starlink — a cash-printing machine

But what sustains this value isn’t the rocket. Starlink.

Several thousand satellites — the world’s largest internet provider. A receiver device the size of a pizza box, and no matter how many wars the signal endures, it still comes from the center of the Pacific Ocean.

By July 2025, 7.65 million subscribers, 24.5 million active users.

Wall Street values it not for the rocket’s speed, but for the steady income of Starlink. Expected revenue in 2025 is $15 billion, in 2026 — $22-24 billion. 80% from Starlink.

SpaceX is now not just a contractor but a global telecom giant.

Women and the little devil

While money was pouring into orbit via Starlink, Musk thought again: “If this value isn’t increased, is all this worth anything?”

In 2022, Musk told employees coldly: “IPO — a pain offer. Shares only cause trouble.” But now his opinion has changed.

The reason — capital. According to Musk:

Within 2 years — the first Starship landing on Mars without humans.
Within 4 years — human footprints on Mars’ red soil.
Within 20 years — a city on Mars self-sustaining with 1000 Starships.

The goal of wealth accumulation — to turn humanity into a “multi-planetary species.”

An IPO of $30 billion — this can be the “interstellar toll” collected from Earth’s population.

The true meaning of a historic IPO

SpaceX IPO — a valuation of $1.5 trillion, is not just wealth. It signifies innovation in fuel, steel, and oxygen. Rockets built in a tent, multi-million dollar achievements, shattered hopes — all are necessary for the journey to Mars.

Revisit the ancient masters of the space industry, Musk’s new language is now different. He has turned “impossible” into “necessary” without breaking any principles.

The IPO in 2026 is not just money; it is a leap into a large market based on first principles thinking. It is a history that has not yet happened.