Google’s SpaceX Stake Revealed for the First Time, What to Know About Google, SpaceX and Musk

TradingKey - In April 2026 ET, regulatory filings submitted by SpaceX in Alaska revealed that Alphabet subsidiary Google held a 6.11% stake in the company as of the end of 2025.

The disclosure was primarily driven by Alaska state regulations requiring companies to disclose shareholders with a stake of 5% or more.

In February of this year, according to Bloomberg calculations, Google's ownership stake was diluted to approximately 5% following the merger of SpaceX with Elon Musk's AI and social media company, xAI. Based on a $2 trillion valuation, this stake is worth approximately $100 billion.

Google competes with SpaceX in the space internet sector, while its AI business is in a direct face-off with Musk's xAI; through its stake in SpaceX, Google also indirectly holds a portion of xAI equity.

Google Committed to Space Strategy with Decade-Long Bet on SpaceX

Google's history of holding shares in SpaceX dates back to 2015. That year, Google joined Fidelity Investments in a $1 billion funding round, with the two institutions collectively acquiring approximately 10% of SpaceX's equity, valuing SpaceX at about $10 billion at the time. Google's contribution in this transaction was approximately $500 million.

For Google, SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet project naturally aligns with its mission to provide internet access to remote areas globally; Google had even expressed interest in investing in satellite communications much earlier.

Why was SpaceX founded in 2002, yet Google didn't officially invest until 2015?

First, between 2002 and 2008, SpaceX experienced three failed Falcon 1 launches, which nearly exhausted its capital and brought it to the brink of bankruptcy. Before 2008, when Musk's personal funds were nearly depleted and both SpaceX and Tesla were on the verge of collapse, no mainstream tech giants were willing to invest in SpaceX.

At that time, SpaceX was a "satellite ignored by everyone," and Google was no exception.

Although Larry Page shared similar interests with Musk personally, Google's truly systematic layout in space technology began in 2008.

In 2008, Google briefly began investing in O3b, which aligned with its ambitious strategy in the space communications race. In fact, before investing in SpaceX, Google intended to acquire O3b; however, after the departure of its founding member Greg Wyler, Google chose to invest in SpaceX instead. Subsequently, after SES (Société Européenne des Satellites) expressed interest in acquiring O3b, Google sold its O3b shares to them.

Therefore, it was only after gradually building its strategic perception and investment framework in the field of space technology that Google began making large-scale bets.

How Google and Musk went from confidants to rivals?

In 2013, Elon Musk sought an acquisition from Google founder Larry Page as Tesla teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. Page held Musk in high regard and almost agreed to all his terms. However, as sales of the Tesla Model S saw a miraculous turnaround, Musk decisively called off the negotiations.

Looking back at 2015, Google’s founders indeed displayed foresight; Tesla and SpaceX, led by Musk, continued to find favor in capital markets, while Google reaped hundredfold returns from its investment in SpaceX. Google’s founders had previously stated publicly that they would rather leave their wealth to Musk for Mars colonization, underscoring a deep alignment with Musk’s ventures.

The transition from confidants to competitors occurred in 2015 at Musk's 44th birthday party. Page believed that humans would eventually merge with AI, while Musk warned that AI could destroy humanity. This argument ultimately led to a substantial breakdown in their friendship.

Shortly after the party, Musk attempted to block Google's acquisition of the AI lab DeepMind but was unsuccessful. Page viewed DeepMind as a core piece of the puzzle for his AI vision, whereas Musk saw the acquisition as a red flag that AI power was falling into the hands of the "overly optimistic."

Ultimately, Musk chose a path of divergence: he collaborated with Sam Altman to found OpenAI, with an initial mission to "act as a counterweight to Google." More importantly, Musk personally poached top AI scientist Ilya Sutskever from Google, offering a $1.9 million annual salary plus a massive signing bonus to appoint him as OpenAI's Chief Scientist.

This became the last straw for Page. Biographer Walter Isaacson noted that Page felt betrayed and was infuriated by Musk’s personal poaching, subsequently "refusing to have any further private interaction with Musk."

Musk later stated that if Page had not been so cavalier about AI safety, he would have had no need to establish a counterweight in the first place.

Despite founding OpenAI, Musk eventually parted ways with the organization.

In early 2018, Musk told Altman that he believed OpenAI had fallen dangerously behind Google and proposed taking over and running it himself. This proposal met with collective opposition from Altman and the other founders. Subsequently, Musk resigned from the OpenAI board. The stated reason was to "avoid potential conflicts of interest as Tesla developed its own AI," but several people familiar with the matter revealed the underlying cause was a failed power grab.

Musk Chooses Lifelong Bet on SpaceX Vision

Elon Musk is inextricably linked to SpaceX; since its founding, he has remained its sole strategic decision-maker.

In 2002, Musk used $100 million in proceeds from his PayPal exit as seed capital to establish SpaceX in a converted Los Angeles warehouse. At the time, his goal—to slash rocket launch costs by 90% and eventually colonize Mars—was dismissed as an unattainable pipe dream.

The early years were a nightmare. In 2006, the Falcon 1 exploded 25 seconds after its maiden flight; a second launch in 2007 spiraled out of control and crashed; and a third attempt in 2008 also failed. By then, Musk’s capital was nearly exhausted, leaving both SpaceX and Tesla on the verge of bankruptcy. He later recalled it as the darkest moment of his life.

The turning point arrived in December 2008 when NASA awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract, providing a critical lifeline. In 2015, the Falcon 9 successfully recovered its first-stage booster for the first time; by 2017, the company achieved the first successful reuse of a recovered rocket, transforming what was once a single-use vehicle into a reusable asset and cutting per-launch costs by 90%.

In May 2020, the SpaceX Dragon completed its first crewed mission, making SpaceX the first private enterprise to master human spaceflight technology. In June 2024, Starship completed a full flight loop. By 2025, SpaceX reached a launch cadence of twice per day.

Within SpaceX’s narrative framework, the company serves as both the backbone of Musk’s commercial empire and the execution vehicle for his ultimate personal vision. Only by understanding this can one truly decipher the logic behind SpaceX’s valuation.