Elon Musk is working on a plan to give retail investors as much as 30% of SpaceX when the company goes public, which is far above the usual 5% to 10% that regular investors get in most IPOs. According to Reuters, the plan is being discussed as SpaceX prepares for a listing that could value the company close to $1.75 trillion. The idea was shared with banks by SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen, who has reportedly told Wall Street firms how the deal could be structured. The plan is still being worked on and can change at any time. The goal is clear. Elon wants strong demand from everyday investors who already follow his companies. Demand from retail investors is expected to be strong, which includes family offices that have backed SpaceX for years and smaller investors who follow Elon closely. Many of them already tracked the company while it was private, and Elon expects them to hold their shares longer and avoid quick selling right after the IPO. Meanwhile, Elon is apparently personally choosing the banks involved with SpaceX’s merger and giving each one a specific job. Bank of America will handle retail investors inside the United States, Morgan Stanley will bring in smaller investors using its E*Trade platform, UBS will focus on wealthy investors outside the US, and Citi is handling global distribution across both retail and big institutions. Other banks are tied to regions, like Mizuho working in Japan, Barclays covering the United Kingdom, Deutsche Bank responsible for Germany, and the Royal Bank of Canada, of course, handling Canada. Cryptopolitan had reported earlier that the retail share could go above 20%. Internal talks now point closer to 30%. Elon cuts jobs at X and pushes revenue as IPO plans move forward At the same time, Elon is still busy making changes inside X, having removed its chief marketing officer, Angela Zepeda, who had been in the role since September 2024. Her exit came after Elon announced a merger between xAI and SpaceX. X also cut more than 20 employees in recent weeks. These were nontechnical roles across marketing and other teams. These jobs were seen as overlapping with roles inside the combined structure. Staff who remain at X are now focused on revenue. Jon Shulkin is leading that effort. Jon is the chief revenue officer at xAI and also a partner at Valor Equity Partners. His role covers both the social platform and the AI business. Revenue numbers show the current position. U.S. ad revenue at X is expected to rise 1.5% to $1.27 billion. Global ad sales are projected to increase 2.2% to $2.19 billion. Back in 2021, before Elon took the company private, Twitter reported $4.51 billion in advertising revenue. These changes are happening while SpaceX moves closer to its public debut. If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter .
