SpaceX Prepares for What Would Be History’s Largest IPO, Expected to Value Company Above $2 Trillion

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, wrote a letter to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday urging it to scrutinize SpaceX’s IPO preparations. 8 million members whose pension funds are likely to hold SpaceX shares within days of the IPO under newly enacted stock exchange rules. Weingarten shared the letter with WIRED.

“I have significant concerns about the degree to which this extremely large offering will comply with the securities laws’ requirements concerning full disclosure of material information and fair treatment of investors,” Weingarten stated in the letter.

She urged SEC chair Paul Atkins to direct his teams to closely check SpaceX’s IPO filings. Weingarten cited concerns about SpaceX’s business plans potentially relying on “nonexistent or speculative technologies,” the reported thoroughness of its accounting, and the adequacy of its board of directors.

“The commission must demand ironclad disclosures, independent oversight and safeguards against forced investment—or risk consigning workers’ life savings to the whims of a company that operates more like a Musk family venture than a transparent, publicly traded enterprise,” Weingarten said in a statement.

SpaceX’s IPO is expected to be the largest ever and raise tens of billions of dollars. If the IPO occurs as planned in June, the company that owns a rocket manufacturer, a social media app, and an AI chatbot developer will rank among the world’s top 10 largest publicly-traded companies.

SpaceX’s IPO is expected to value the company above $2 trillion. Last year, Weingarten urged state and local officials and six big investment funds to review their holdings of Tesla shares. Wired reported that activists and pension funds are asking challenging questions about the offering for many of the same reasons they targeted Tesla last year.