Elon Musk is leveraging SpaceX’s highly anticipated initial public offering to drive advertising revenue on X and subscriptions to xAI’s Grok chatbot. According to the New York Times, Musk has informed banks, law firms, and financial advisers involved in the upcoming SpaceX IPO that they must become paying customers of both platforms to remain in his good graces.
Major institutions including Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley are expected to work on the offering. Law firms Gibson Dunn and Davis Polk are also advising on the deal. Several banks have reportedly already agreed to spend tens of millions on Grok and have begun integrating it into their systems.
A High-Stakes Offering
SpaceX’s IPO is shaping up to be one of the largest public offerings in history. Reuters reported that the company recently raised its target valuation to over $2 trillion. Investors are being pitched on orbital data centers, humanoid robotics developed alongside Tesla, a planned lunar base, and the long-term vision of reaching Mars.
X’s Ongoing Revenue Struggle
The pressure tactic comes as X faces significant headwinds. The platform’s EU user base dropped 15% in the second half of 2025, and ad revenue reportedly fell as well. Ongoing brand safety concerns have kept many advertisers away since Musk acquired the company in 2022. Musk has previously sued brands that pulled their ad spending and has used SpaceX itself as a major X advertiser to prop up the platform’s numbers.
Whether this latest pressure campaign translates into lasting advertiser commitment remains to be seen.