Pretoria-born trillionaire, Elon Musk, projects $1 trillion SpaceX revenue by 2030

Pretoria-born trillionaire Elon Musk has said his rocket company SpaceX could generate $1 trillion in annual revenue by 2030, a projection that adds fresh attention to the firm’s rapid expansion following its public listing. Musk made the comment in a reply on X to journalist and financial commentator Jon Erlichman, putting a timeline on his expectations. 

“I think SpaceX might be able to reach $1 trillion in revenue in 2030,” he wrote. “And I would be surprised if revenue is not greater than $1 trillion in 2031,” he added. His remarks came just days after SpaceX’s debut on public markets, when he also highlighted the company’s long-term earning potential as investor interest continued to build.

SpaceX surge pushes market capitalization above $2 trillion

SpaceX began trading on June 12 at $150 a share, above its $135 initial public offering price. The stock climbed further in its first session to close at $160.95, a 19 percent gain that pushed its valuation beyond $2 trillion. The listing ranked among the largest in market history and quickly placed SpaceX among the most valuable publicly traded companies in the United States. The move also lifted Musk’s net worth above the $1 trillion mark, making him the first individual to reach that level of net worth, according to estimates from Forbes.

The milestone is rooted in market valuation rather than cash holdings, reflecting the combined value investors assign to Musk’s stakes in his companies. SpaceX, which he founded in 2002, has become the main driver of that wealth alongside Tesla, with its public listing sharply increasing paper gains tied to his holdings. The company’s debut also placed it as the sixth-largest U.S. firm by market capitalization within days of trading.

Musk’s net worth surpasses $1.1 trillion

Born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1971, Musk was first listed as a billionaire in 2012, with an estimated net worth of $2.4 billion at the time. His fortune rose to about $20 billion by 2019 and accelerated further in the years that followed, supported by sharp gains in Tesla’s share price and later corporate developments across his portfolio. In recent years, his net worth has expanded to an estimated $1.1 trillion, driven largely by private market valuations.

Alongside Tesla and SpaceX, Musk has built a network of companies spanning tunneling, artificial intelligence, and neurotechnology. That group includes X, which he acquired in 2022, as well as xAI, Neuralink, and The Boring Company. In recent years, several of those ventures have been tied together through overlapping ownership structures and internal deals, further concentrating his holdings in a small number of firms.

The latest projections, while not independently verified, underline how closely Musk’s financial position remains tied to the market value of his companies. They also reflect how quickly those valuations can shift, with investor sentiment playing a central role in recent gains attributed to SpaceX and related assets.