Want in on Musk's SpaceX IPO? Elon Musk sets 'Grok condition' for Wall Street banks, advisers

SpaceX IPO: Elon Musk reportedly asks banks to buy Grok AI subscriptions amid $2 trillion valuation push

If you want a seat at one of the biggest IPOs ever, there may be a catch. Elon Musk is reportedly asking Wall Street firms to also sign up for his AI chatbot, Grok.

Elon Musk has required banks and advisers working on SpaceX's planned initial public offering to purchase subscriptions to Grok, his artificial intelligence chatbot, according to a New York Times report.

Some banks have already agreed to spend tens of millions of dollars annually on the chatbot and have started integrating it into their internal systems, the report said. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup are serving as active bookrunners for the offering, Reuters had reported earlier.

The IPO could be among the largest ever. SpaceX has raised its target valuation above $2 trillion, according to a Bloomberg News report cited by Reuters, and is aiming to raise about $75 billion.

Such a fundraising would surpass previous mega listings, including Saudi Aramco in 2019 and Alibaba in 2014, positioning the SpaceX offering as potentially the biggest in market history.

The reported requirement comes after SpaceX acquired Musk's AI startup xAI in February, bringing Grok under the space company. The chatbot has faced scrutiny over safety concerns, including issues related to generated content.

The IPO is expected to generate significant fees for participating banks, with estimates suggesting hundreds of millions of dollars in advisory earnings.

The filing could position it ahead of other anticipated mega IPOs, including those of OpenAI and Anthropic, which are also said to be considering public listings.

The Elon Musk-led company, which dominates global rocket launches, is pitching itself as a vehicle for investors to back ambitions such as returning humans to the moon and pursuing Mars colonisation. Alongside this, it runs a satellite internet business that expands connectivity worldwide and has seen growing use in conflict settings.