What to Know About the SpaceX IPO: Explainer

Elon Musk gave the financial world a lot to ponder as SpaceX made public its plans for an initial public offering. The IPO is poised to be the largest stock-market debut in history, but as financial paperwork unveiled on May 20 confirmed, SpaceX’s success as a public enterprise will depend on its ability to meet lofty goals across space exploration, satellite communications and artificial intelligence.

SpaceX is seeking to raise at least $75 billion in the IPO at a valuation of as much as $2 trillion, though the final targets won’t be disclosed for several weeks. The filing did reveal ...