SpaceX may sell insider shares at historic $800 billion valuation; will the Elon Musk company float IPO soon?

SpaceX, the space transportation and satellite making company run by Elon Musk, is preparing to sell its insider shares in a transaction that would value it at higher than $500 billion, Bloomberg reported quoting people familiar with the development.
This means that SpaceX is on its way to break OpenAI's record, which had sold its shares to have a $500 billion valuation — a first in history.
How much will SpaceX's valuation be?
According to the people quoted by Bloomberg, the insider share selling could increase the valuation of SpaceX to about $800 billion.
Some people with knowledge of the matter told the news agency that the company’s latest tender offer could change on the basis of interest from insider sellers and buyers or other factors.
The details of the SpaceX insider share selling was discussed by SpaceX’s board of directors on Thursday at its Starbase hub in Texas.
Another person briefed on the matter said that the SpaceX share price under discussion is higher than $400 apiece. This would value the Elon Musk-run company at between $750 billion and $800 billion, though the details could change.
If the plan is confirmed, SpaceX is on its way to become the most valuable privately held company, edging past OpenAI. The ChatGPT owner had in October set the record by being valued at $500 billion.
The $400 per share figure is a substantial jump from the $212 apiece set in July, when SpaceX raised funding and sold shares at a valuation of $400 billion.
The company has however not made any public announcement about the share selling deal.
The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, earlier reported that a deal would value SpaceX at $800 billion.
The news of the SpaceX latest valuation sent shares of EchoStar Corp., a satellite TV and wireless company, up as much as 18%. This comes after a month of EchoStar agreeing to sell spectrum licenses to SpaceX for $2.6 billion.
SpaceX IPO in the works?
Another person with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg said SpaceX could pursue an initial public offering as soon as late next year.
A SpaceX IPO, if launched, could send the $800 billion valuation company to an elite group — the 20 largest public companies, a few notches below Musk’s Tesla.
If the SpaceX IPO pertains to selling 5% of the company at an $800 billion valuation, it would have to sell $40 billion of stock — making it the biggest IPO of all time. This is well above Saudi Aramco’s $29 billion listing in 2019.
A listing would also subject SpaceX to the volatility of being a public company, versus private firms whose valuations are closely guarded secrets.