SpaceX became the world’s most valuable private startup overnight

The valuation of Elon Musk’s rocket company jumped to $350bn (€332bn) due to an insider deal.

An internal share trade pushed the, otherwise not publicly traded company’s value to the stratosphere.

SpaceX was last valued at around $250bn (€238bn) and its share price was $112/stock in September. The fresh deal between the rocket company and its investors to purchase up to $1.25bn (€1.19bn) of the company’s common shares shows a 65% rise in the share price, at $185 a piece, putting the company’s value at $350bn (€332bn), according to Bloomberg.

SpaceX alone is offering to purchase as much as $500m (€476m) worth of common stock, it said in an internal document, seen by the media company.

The new valuation makes SpaceX the most valuable private startup in the world.

“What’s really crazy about this is that almost no investors wanted to sell shares even at a $350B valuation!” wrote Elon Musk on X, adding that “SpaceX reduced the amount of shares it bought back from employees in order to allow some new investors in.”

The American aerospace company founded by Elon Musk in 2002, is primarily a rocket launch provider, catering to NASA, the Pentagon, and commercial partners. The company is also operating Starlink, a satellite constellation delivering broadband internet.

Musk’s vision for the company is to pave the way for humans to colonise Mars and provide wider access to commercial space travel.

Elon Musk’s investments have recently benefitted from the controversial businessman’s close ties to the president-elect of the US, a phenomenon called the “Trump bump”.

His companies’ are attracting investors, Tesla’s share price has increased more than 60% since the US election, and Musk’s AI company called xAI has recently raised $6bn in new investment.