Reports indicate that SpaceX favors listing on Nasdaq, contingent upon early inclusion in the index

IT Home March 10 News, according to Reuters, four informed sources revealed that Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite manufacturing company SpaceX is inclined to go public on the Nasdaq. This IPO is expected to become the largest in history.

Two of the sources stated that SpaceX hopes to be included in the Nasdaq 100 index as soon as possible, which has become a necessary condition for its listing on this tech stock exchange. Due to the confidential nature of the discussions, these sources, who wished to remain anonymous, said that SpaceX’s plans could still change.

Reuters previously reported that SpaceX planned to go public as early as June this year.

Several sources said that the New York Stock Exchange is also competing for this listing, and neither exchange has yet received final decision notifications.

The Nasdaq 100 index is owned by Nasdaq Inc. and is regarded by large institutional investors as a top blue-chip index, serving as a barometer for the performance of most major listed companies worldwide—including giants like Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, and other tech stocks. The index rose about 21% last year and has slightly declined so far this year.

Last month, Nasdaq proposed a new rule that could accelerate the inclusion of newly listed giant companies into the Nasdaq 100 index. This proposed change has not yet been finalized and may take several months to implement. Its goal is to attract high-valuation private companies like SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI to list on the exchange.

Under the proposed fast-track rule, if a newly listed company’s market cap ranks in the top 40 of the index, it can be accelerated into the index in less than a month. One source said that SpaceX’s IPO target valuation is approximately $1.75 trillion (IT Home note: at current exchange rates, about 12.11 trillion RMB), which, based on the latest stock price, would make it the sixth-largest company in the U.S.

Currently, newly listed companies usually need to wait up to a year before qualifying for major indices like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, primarily to demonstrate stability sufficient to handle large institutional investor demand.

Being included in the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and other blue-chip indices makes it easier for companies to attract substantial institutional investment, as these investors often buy heavily into index funds, expanding the shareholder base and gradually increasing stock liquidity.

The New York Stock Exchange also has a similar index tracking its 100 largest U.S. stocks, but it receives less investor attention. Therefore, inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 is especially important for major IPOs.

For executives and early investors, increased liquidity can reduce market impact from large sell-offs after the IPO lock-up period (usually 90 to 180 days). However, this does not guarantee that large internal sell-offs won’t suppress the stock price.

SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment.

Reuters reported in February that SpaceX’s advisors had contacted Nasdaq and other major index providers to discuss earlier inclusion into core indices than usual.

A SpaceX listing is expected to be a major event in one of the busiest IPO years in recent history, with several well-known venture-backed companies and startups, including OpenAI and Anthropic, also preparing for their own listings.