Ideas

SpaceX Is Basically a Huge Meme Stock

The company may be losing money, but it will soon be the most expensive big stock in the market.

First published in The Atlantic on April 14, 2026.

by James Surowiecki, The Atlantic

April 16, 2026 | reading time: 5 Min.

Elon Musk likes to do everything on a grand scale. When he takes SpaceX public in the coming months, it will likely be the biggest initial public offering in history. Although SpaceX’s recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing for the IPO was confidential, indications are that the conglomerate is looking for a valuation of $2 trillion. That would instantly make it the sixth-most-valuable U.S. company. By conventional standards, SpaceX isn’t worth anything close to $2 trillion. The company is in fact relatively small and losing money. Yet there is little doubt that Musk will get the valuation he wants. He is one of the finest corporate dream weavers we’ve ever seen, and he has a dedicated following of fanboy investors who will happily buy whatever he’s selling.