The Musk File/CASE 13/2002–2026

Business

SpaceX: landings, explosions and a $1.77 trillion listing

Falcon, Dragon, Starship and the 2026 IPO

The first Falcon Heavy launch, February 6, 2018, Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Daniel Oberhaus · Source & image context ↗

RECORD / AT A GLANCE

Documented achievements and documented failures

The core achievements, reusable boosters and crewed flights for NASA, are documented by NASA itself. So are Starship’s failures and the FAA’s investigations. Neither cancels the other.

THE EVENTS / THE INVESTIGATION / THE STORY

The chronology.

READ THE FILE

Evidence & assessment.

01

What SpaceX actually achieved

NASA’s own records.

↗02

Starship explosions and the FAA

What went wrong on Flight 7 and how regulators handled it.

↗03

The listing and who controls it

A record IPO, the xAI merger and Musk’s voting power.

↗

Open an article for its evidence, labeled AI assessment and numbered sources. Read the complete static edition ↗

WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS FILE

The claims, rated.

7 claims people make about this file, each rated documented, partly true, disputed, unproven or false. Think a rating is wrong? Use Dispute or Support, or join the Discussion.

DOCUMENTED SpaceX, Starlink & Neuralink

“SpaceX returned U.S. astronauts to orbit from American soil.”

Demo-2 launched Behnken and Hurley on 30 May 2020, the first such flight since the shuttle retired in 2011.

Who says it: NASA.

The evidence in this file ↗ · On the full claims board ↗

DOCUMENTED SpaceX, Starlink & Neuralink

“Musk keeps control of SpaceX after going public.”

His high-vote shares give him control, and governance experts criticized limits on outside shareholders.

Who says it: Reuters, governance experts.

The evidence in this file ↗ · On the full claims board ↗

UNPROVEN SpaceX, Starlink & Neuralink

“Starship explosions have endangered people on the ground.”

Flight 7’s debris fell over the Turks and Caicos. The FAA slowed or held aircraft and several flights diverted. No public injuries were reported.

Who says it: Critics.

The evidence in this file ↗ · On the full claims board ↗

FALSE SpaceX, Starlink & Neuralink

“SpaceX’s achievements are hype propped up by NASA.”

NASA documents the firsts: the first commercial station berthing, booster landings and reuse, and crewed flights since 2020.

Who says it: Critics.

The evidence in this file ↗ · On the full claims board ↗

All 161 rated claims ↗

OPEN THE RECORD

Sources & limits.

Numbered citations in each article identify the relevant sources. These records have different purposes and evidentiary weight.

  1. EBSCO Research Starter: Elon Musk, by Joe Bogdan (updated 2026) ↗

    A reference biography covering birth, education, companies, politics and family through 2026. A secondary summary; check numbers against filings.

  2. NASA: first commercial Dragon berthing at the space station, 25 May 2012 ↗

    Official account of the first private spacecraft to berth with the ISS.

  3. Spaceflight Now: SES-10 launch and landing on a reused booster, 31 March 2017 ↗

    First reflight of an orbital-class booster.

  4. NASA: Demo-2 crew launch, 30 May 2020 ↗

    First crewed orbital launch from U.S. soil since 2011.

  5. SpaceX: Falcon 9 technical description ↗

    Company page on the reusable rocket. Company claims.

  6. Reuters: FAA opens probe into Starship explosion, 17 January 2025 ↗

    Flight 7 debris over the Turks and Caicos.

  7. Space.com: FAA closes Starship Flight 7 investigation, 28 March 2025 ↗

    Cause and no reported public injuries.

  8. FAA: statement on the SpaceX Starship Flight 7 mishap, 17 January 2025 ↗

    Government statement: Debris Response Area activated, aircraft slowed or held, several diverted for low fuel.

  9. CNBC: dozens of flights diverted or delayed after FAA warned of SpaceX debris, 16 January 2025 ↗

    Quotes the FAA: it “briefly slowed and diverted aircraft.”

  10. Reuters: SpaceX to merge with xAI at a combined $1.25 trillion valuation, 2 February 2026 ↗

    The merger that put xAI and X under SpaceX.

  11. Reuters: SpaceX unveils filing for blockbuster IPO, 20 May 2026 ↗

    Summary of the registration statement: losses, AI spending and control.

  12. Reuters: SpaceX prices record $75 billion IPO at $135 a share, 11 June 2026 ↗

    Price, proceeds and valuation.

  13. NPR: SpaceX debuts on Nasdaq, 12 June 2026 ↗

    First-day trading.

  14. Reuters: SpaceX IPO gives Musk sweeping power and curbs shareholder rights, 6 May 2026 ↗

    Dual-class structure and governance.

  15. NASA: Demo-2 crew splash down, 2 August 2020 ↗

    The return.

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