How to Buy SpaceX

The constellation Monoceros, faintly visible against the Milky Way, has for centuries occupied the heavens as “the unicorn.” The other space unicorn? Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. The billionaire entrepreneur’s onetime side hustle has, in less than two decades, evolved from a novel idea—reusable rockets—into the most highly valued startup in the US. The $210 billion colossus launches satellites, operates the Starlink internet service and counts itself as a critical NASA subcontractor, ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station.

Yet investing in SpaceX is anything but simple. The Hawthorne, California-based company remains privately held, which means its shares don’t trade on a stock exchange—not yet anyway. Although that day may come should the company ever go public, for now obtaining a piece of SpaceX (like many unicorns) is not unlike getting past an exclusive club’s velvet rope. Playing hard to get helps create demand and push up the company’s valuation.1