📌 UPDATE — May 16, 2026
Demand for SpaceX's anticipated IPO is intensifying beyond initial reports. Prominent analyst and SpaceX commentator Sawyer Merritt notes the offering is expected to be "massively oversubscribed," with Ron Baron reportedly looking to increase his already-announced $1B order further. Index
Ron Baron isn't waiting to see how the SpaceX IPO plays out — he's already placed his bet. The billionaire investor and founder of Baron Capital announced today that he has a $1 billion order ready to go the moment SpaceX shares become available to the public. For a company that has already made Baron one of its most vocal and longest-tenured backers, this is a significant doubling down on a conviction he's held since 2017.
A Long-Term Believer Adding More
Baron Capital has been investing in SpaceX since 2017, and the position has grown into one of the firm's defining bets. According to verified financial data, Baron's cumulative investment in SpaceX reached approximately $1.1 billion by the end of 2024, with those holdings valued at roughly $4.4 billion at that time — a 4x return before the company has even gone public.
By April 2026, SpaceX had grown to represent 33% of the Baron Partners Fund's total portfolio, making it the fund's single largest holding. That concentration alone signals how strongly Baron's team believes in the company's trajectory. Now, with an IPO on the horizon, Baron wants more — and he's not being subtle about it.
"At the IPO price, I've got an order for $1 billion. I want to buy more stock at the IPO. I don't know if we're going to get filled, but we're going to try," Baron said today, according to a post by @SawyerMerritt.
The IPO Context
SpaceX confidentially filed for an IPO on April 1, 2026, targeting a valuation of $1.75 trillion — which would make it the largest public offering in history, surpassing Saudi Aramco's 2019 record. The company is reportedly aiming to raise more than $30 billion in new capital, with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America leading the deal.
An IPO roadshow is reportedly scheduled for June 8, 2026, with shares potentially beginning to trade in late June or early July. The sheer scale of the offering means demand allocation will be intensely competitive — which is exactly why Baron is flagging uncertainty about whether his $1 billion order will be fully filled.
What the Return Math Looks Like
Baron has publicly stated he expects to achieve a 10x return on his SpaceX investment over the next decade. Elon Musk, for his part, has reportedly predicted a 30x return for long-term holders. At a $1.75 trillion IPO valuation, the company would already be pricing in enormous future growth — but Baron's willingness to add at that level suggests he sees the current price as still early in the story, not a ceiling.
The question for other investors watching this unfold is straightforward: if one of SpaceX's most informed private-market backers — someone who has watched the company's financials and operations for nearly a decade — is actively trying to buy more at IPO pricing, what does that say about where he thinks the valuation goes from here?
For our SpaceX coverage, Baron's announcement is one of the clearest signals yet that institutional demand for the IPO will be intense. Whether retail investors get meaningful access to shares at the offering price remains an open question — but the conviction of buyers like Baron will set the tone for how the market receives what could be the defining public market event of the decade.
Sarah focuses on Tesla Energy, SpaceX missions, and the broader Musk AI portfolio. Former data analyst in clean energy. Based in San Francisco.
Sources verified at publish time. Spotted an inaccuracy? Email editorial@basenor.com.
