The company will use the bond proceeds to repay its bridge loan in full
SpaceX is raising its first-ever bond, a debt offering that sources told CNBC could reach US$20bn, days after an IPO that left the company sitting on more than US$100bn in cash but still deeply unprofitable.
The senior unsecured notes offering, announced Monday, came without disclosed size or pricing, Reuters reported, though sources told CNBC the company is targeting US$20bn, with the sale expected to begin as early as Tuesday.
SpaceX said the proceeds will repay borrowings under a bridge loan facility in full and cover related fees, according to Yahoo Finance.
The company secured that bridge loan earlier this year when it acquired Musk's xAI venture in February, Yahoo Finance reported, citing Reuters that Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley provided the financing and are expected to run the deal.
Reuters framed the move as SpaceX replacing short-term bridge financing with longer-dated debt to fund a costly expansion into AI and next-generation rockets.
Credit rating agencies signalled confidence last week, assigning investment-grade ratings with a stable outlook.
Moody's issued a "Baa1" and Fitch a "BBB+", indicating the debt carries moderate credit risk with sufficient capacity to meet financial commitments.
SpaceX disclosed US$100.8bn in cash and cash equivalents as of June 19, CNBC reported, a sharp jump from the US$15.9bn it held at the end of March under its IPO filing, as per Reuters.
The cash cushion offsets a company that is still losing money heavily.
SpaceX posted a US$4.9bn net loss in 2025 and lost US$4.28bn in the first quarter of this year, CNBC reported.
Revenue rose 33 percent to US$18.67bn last year, but the company reported a net loss after heavy spending and the integration of xAI, according to Reuters, even as its Starlink satellite internet business grew strongly.
The spending is set to continue: SpaceX has been investing in AI infrastructure and its next-generation Starship rocket, Reuters reported, and plans to buy more chips and fund future data centres in space, according to CNBC.
It signed a deal worth up to US$6.3bn with Reflection AI for additional computing capacity at Musk's Colossus 2 data centre.
The bond structure preserves existing shareholders' economic stakes, as per Reuters.
Because Musk maintains supermajority voting control through a dual-class structure, issuing bonds keeps economic ownership intact for existing shareholders without new shares, said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments.
"This debt choice over additional equity clearly prioritizes avoiding further shareholder dilution," he said.
Musk holds 82 percent of the company's voting power after the IPO, Reuters reported.
The debt raise lands as the equity sells off.
Shares fell 16 percent on Monday for a third consecutive losing session, closing down 16.4 percent in their largest single-day drop since the June 12 debut.
The slide erased nearly 24 percent over three days, CNBC reported, leaving the stock just 14 percent above its US$135 IPO price after an earlier run to around US$225, as per Yahoo Finance.
Reuters noted the turbulence resembled Tesla's reaction at its 2010 debut.
Debt offerings can themselves weigh on share prices as investors weigh interest expense and the implications of a company needing additional funding.
More supply could hit the market soon.
Yahoo Finance, citing 22V Research strategist Jeff Jacobson, reported that a 20 percent insider share unlock follows SpaceX's earnings announcement in early to mid-August, with further unlocks tied to share price and calendar dates.
Jacobson said insiders could potentially sell 44 percent of SpaceX shares by early September, increasing the float by about 900 percent from its current level of around 4.2 percent.
The IPO raised US$85.7bn after underwriters exercised the greenshoe option, Reuters reported, making it one of the world's most valuable companies and minting Musk as the world's first trillionaire, according to CNBC.
