SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., doing business as SpaceX, is an American spaceflight, telecommunications, and artificial intelligence company headquartered at the Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. The company operates three divisions: "Space", which conducts more orbital launches annually than any other launch provider, including national programs; "Connectivity", which operates Starlink, a communications satellite company; and "Artificial intelligence", operated through its wholly owned subsidiary SpaceXAI (formerly xAI), which develops Grok, integrates with X, and runs data centers. The company is credited with advances in rocket propulsion, reusable launch vehicles, human spaceflight, satellite constellation technology. The company's largest customers include NASA, the United States Space Force, and the National Reconnaissance Office. Elon Musk owns 42% of the outstanding shares of SpaceX and controls 85% of the voting power via his super-voting stock. SpaceX was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the goal of reducing spaceflight costs, improving the reliability of access to outer space for ordinary humans, and colonizing Mars. In 2008, after three failed attempts between 2006 and 2008 that almost pushed the company to bankruptcy, SpaceX successfully launched the Falcon 1 into orbit, becoming the first private company to develop and launch a liquid-fueled rocket to orbit. In 2010, the company launched the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and the Dragon 1 spacecraft to fulfill NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contracts for cargo deliveries to the International Space Station (ISS). In 2012, SpaceX began flying Commercial Resupply Services missions to the ISS, becoming the first private company to successfully dock with the station, and started developing technologies to make the Falcon 9 first stage reusable. In 2015, Falcon 9 flight 20 was the first successful landing of an orbital-class rocket's first stage and the company's SES-10 completed the first reflight of an orbital-class booster in 2017. After a decade of development, the Falcon Heavy, which consists of three Falcon 9-derived boosters, made its maiden flight in 2018. As of May 2026, Falcon 9 launches averaged approximately three missions per week, and Falcon boosters had completed nearly 650 landings and reflights. In 2019, the first operational satellite of the Starlink internet satellite constellation came online, diversifying the revenue of the company. Starlink has generated the bulk of SpaceX's income and led to its Starshield military counterpart. In 2020, SpaceX began to operate its Dragon 2 capsules for NASA and private entity crewed missions. Around this time, SpaceX began building test prototypes for SpaceX Starship, the largest launch vehicle in history. SpaceX plans to adapt it as a human lander for lunar missions under NASA's Artemis program. In 2026, SpaceX acquired Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI, and announced a joint venture with Tesla, Inc. to build Terafab, a large plant for semiconductor device fabrication. The initial public offering of SpaceX on June 12, 2026, which raised $86 billion, was the largest IPO in history and briefly made Musk the first US-dollar trillionaire.
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Who Founded SpaceX?
Elon Reeve Musk ( EE-lon; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman and former public official who is the CEO and largest shareholder of Tesla and SpaceX. Musk has been the wealthiest person in the world since 2025, and became the only trillionaire in terms of US dollars in June 2026; as of August 8, 2026, Forbes estimates his net worth to be US$823 billion. Born into the wealthy Musk family in Pretoria, South Africa, Musk emigrated in 1989 to Canada; he has Canadian citizenship since his mother was born there. He received bachelor's degrees in 1997 from the University of Pennsylvania before moving to California to pursue business ventures. In 1995, Musk co-founded Zip2, a web software company. Following its sale in 1999, he co-founded X.com, an e-commerce payment system that merged with Confinity in March 2000 to form PayPal, which was acquired by eBay in 2002. Musk also became an American citizen in 2002. In 2002, Musk founded and became CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX, a space technology company; the company has since led innovations in reusable rockets and commercial spaceflight. Musk joined Tesla as an early investor in 2004 and became its CEO and product architect in 2008; it has since become a leader in electric vehicles. In 2015, Musk co-founded OpenAI to advance artificial intelligence (AI) research, but later left; his growing discontent with the organization's direction and leadership in the AI boom in the 2020s led him to establish xAI, which became a subsidiary of SpaceX in 2026. In 2022, he acquired Twitter, a social networking service, and made significant changes, including rebranding it as X in 2023. His other businesses include Neuralink, a neurotechnology company that he co-founded in 2016, and the Boring Company, a tunneling company that he founded in 2017. In November 2025, Tesla approved a pay package worth $1 trillion for Musk, which he is to receive over 10 years if certain milestones are met, such as achieving a market capitalization of $8.5 trillion. Musk became the first US-dollar trillionaire upon the initial public offering of SpaceX in June 2026; a SpaceX stock collapse brought him under the threshold by the next month. Musk was the largest donor in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, where he supported Donald Trump. After Trump was inaugurated in January 2025, Musk served as Senior Advisor to the President and as the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk left the Trump administration in May 2025 and returned to managing his companies; shortly thereafter he had a public feud with Trump. Musk is a supporter of global far-right politics, figures, and political parties. His political activities, statements and views have made him a polarizing figure. He has been criticized for making unscientific and misleading statements, including spreading COVID-19 misinformation, promoting conspiracy theories, and affirming antisemitic, white nationalist, racist, and transphobic comments. His acquisition of Twitter was controversial because, following his pledge to decrease censorship, there was an increase in hate speech and misinformation on the service. His role in the second Trump administration attracted public backlash, particularly in response to DOGE and its cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Frequently Asked Questions about SpaceX
Who runs SpaceX?
Leadership and ownership at SpaceX has evolved over its history. It was originally founded by Elon Musk, who established the vision for the company.
Who is responsible for SpaceX?
The founders, Elon Musk, were responsible for the initial creation and early success of SpaceX.