Elon Musk’s space exploration company SpaceX is reportedly favoring the Nasdaq stock exchange for its highly anticipated initial public offering, which industry experts believe could set records as the largest IPO ever conducted, according to four individuals with knowledge of the company’s internal discussions.
The rocket and satellite manufacturing giant has made early admission to the prestigious Nasdaq 100 index a key requirement for any potential stock market debut on the technology-focused exchange, two sources revealed. However, these plans remain fluid and subject to change, noted the individuals who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the ongoing deliberations.
Previous reporting has indicated SpaceX is targeting an IPO timeline as soon as this June.
The New York Stock Exchange remains in contention for the high-profile listing, with neither exchange having received final word on SpaceX’s decision, according to multiple sources close to the situation.
The Nasdaq 100 index, managed by Nasdaq Inc, represents a premier collection of blue-chip stocks closely monitored by major institutional investors and serves as a key indicator of market health for the world’s largest publicly traded companies, including technology giants such as Nvidia, Apple, and Amazon. The index posted approximately 21% gains in the previous year and has shown modest declines year-to-date.
Last month, Nasdaq introduced a proposed regulation that could expedite the process for adding newly public megacap companies to its flagship index.
This potential rule change, still awaiting final approval and implementation over the coming months, aims to attract highly valued private enterprises including SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI to choose the exchange for their public debuts.
The proposed “Fast Entry” provision would allow qualifying newly listed companies to join the index in approximately one month, provided their market capitalization places them among the index’s current top 40 constituents. SpaceX is reportedly pursuing a valuation near $1.75 trillion for its public offering, which would position it as the sixth-most valuable U.S. company based on current market prices.
Current regulations require newly public companies to wait as long as one year before becoming eligible for inclusion in major indices like the S&P 500 or Nasdaq 100, allowing time to prove their stability and capacity to manage substantial institutional investment flows.
Membership in elite indices such as the Nasdaq 100 or S&P 500 provides companies enhanced access to well-funded institutional investors who typically purchase substantial stakes for their index-tracking funds, expanding the shareholder base and enhancing trading liquidity over time. While the NYSE maintains a comparable index of its 100 largest U.S. stocks, it receives less attention from the investment community, making Nasdaq 100 inclusion particularly valuable for major IPOs.
For company leadership and early investors, improved liquidity could minimize market disruption from large stock sales following the expiration of lockup periods, which typically last 90 to 180 days post-IPO, though significant insider selling could still pressure share prices.
SpaceX has not responded to requests for comment regarding these reports.
Earlier reporting in February revealed that SpaceX advisers had contacted major index providers, including Nasdaq, to explore accelerated inclusion in key market indices.
The SpaceX public offering is anticipated to headline what appears to be one of the most active IPO periods in recent years, with numerous prominent venture-backed companies and startups, including OpenAI and Anthropic, preparing for their own market debuts.
