NEW YORK CITY, New York: SpaceX is preparing for what could become the largest initial public offering in history, a deal that may push founder Elon Musk's net worth beyond the $1 trillion mark.

The space and satellite company said it plans to sell 555.6 million shares at $135 each in its upcoming stock market debut, raising up to $75 billion and valuing the company at approximately $1.77 trillion.

If completed as planned, the offering would eclipse the $26 billion raised by Saudi Aramco in 2019, currently the world's largest IPO. At the proposed valuation, SpaceX would rank among the world's most valuable companies, with only a handful of firms currently worth more.

The filing also highlights the degree of control Musk will retain after the company goes public. Through his ownership of 5.22 billion Class B shares, each carrying 10 votes, Musk would hold 82.4% of the company's voting power as chief executive officer, chief technical officer and chairman.

According to Forbes, Musk's net worth currently stands at about $826 billion, including a SpaceX stake valued at $542 billion based on a previous company valuation of $1.25 trillion. A valuation of $1.77 trillion would significantly increase the value of those holdings and potentially make him the world's first trillionaire, though much of his wealth remains tied to stock.

Despite the eye-popping valuation, SpaceX continues to post substantial losses. The company reported an operating loss of $2.6 billion last year on revenue of $18.7 billion, and losses continued during the opening months of this year.

The company's IPO prospectus outlines ambitions that stretch far beyond its current rocket launches and satellite business. Among its long-term goals are returning humans to the moon and eventually establishing a permanent settlement on Mars.

The document describes plans for "a permanent human colony" on the planet with "at least one million inhabitants" to help ensure humanity's survival against threats that could lead to "the same fate as the dinosaurs."

Artificial intelligence also plays a central role in SpaceX's future plans. The company estimates AI-related opportunities could eventually generate as much as $26.5 trillion in revenue, though many of those projections depend on technologies that do not yet exist, including data centers operating in space.

Analysts say AI will be critical not only to SpaceX but also to Musk's broader business empire.

Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities said he expects Tesla and SpaceX to merge next year, creating a company heavily focused on artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous systems.

Not everyone is convinced that SpaceX will immediately emerge as a major AI player. IDC analyst Arnal Dayaratna said the company's AI offerings currently lag behind competitors.

Its chatbot Grok is "less impressive than anything that we see from any other major player in the space, whether that's OpenAI, or Anthropic, or (Google's) Gemini," Dayaratna said.

SpaceX plans to use proceeds from the IPO to expand AI infrastructure, grow its rocket business and strengthen the Starlink satellite network.

The company expects to list on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "SPCX" and could begin trading as early as next week. The offering is also expected to pave the way for anticipated public listings by AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI.

"This listing represents the first major test for public markets after years of muted IPO activity with SpaceX paving the way for AI giants Anthropic and OpenAI to follow soon after," Ives wrote.