Elon Musk is requiring banks and other firms working on SpaceX's initial public offering to purchase subscriptions to his Grok AI chatbot, according to sources cited by The New York Times. Some banks have agreed to spend tens of millions of dollars on the service and are integrating it into their systems. The condition comes as SpaceX confidentially filed IPO paperwork with the SEC this week.
SpaceX confidentially filed paperwork for its initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week. The filing follows the company's acquisition of xAI, the producer of Grok, two months ago. xAI had previously purchased the X social network in March 2025. The IPO is expected to raise more than $50 billion at a valuation exceeding $1 trillion, with banks potentially earning fees over $500 million, according to The New York Times. A Bloomberg report indicated SpaceX recently boosted its target valuation to more than $2 trillion from $1.25 trillion at the time of the xAI merger. Elon Musk insisted that banks, law firms, auditors and other advisers buy Grok subscriptions as a condition for working on the IPO, the NYT sources said. He also requested advertising on X, owned by SpaceX, but was less adamant about that. Five banks are slated to participate: Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley. Law firms Gibson Dunn and Davis Polk are advising on the deal. Some banks have already agreed to the terms, committing tens of millions to Grok's business and enterprise versions and beginning integration into their IT systems. SpaceX has not yet commented on the reports.
