SpaceX is no longer the private company investors spent years trying to access through secondary markets.
After its June 2026 public listing, ownership details are finally visible. The most notable disclosure came on August 13, when Elon Musk filed a Schedule 13G with the SEC, revealing the size and composition of his SpaceX stake.
The headline number: Musk beneficially owned about 48.4% of SpaceX as of June 30.
But that number doesn't tell the full story. His economic ownership, restricted stock, options, and voting control are separate concepts. Because SpaceX uses a dual-class share structure, Musk can maintain control without holding more than half of the company's economic interest.
That distinction matters for anyone now looking at SpaceX as a public company.
How Much of SpaceX Does Elon Musk Own?
According to Musk’s August 13 SEC filing, he beneficially owned 6,418,547,515 SpaceX shares, representing approximately 48.4% of the company on the filing’s as-converted beneficial-ownership basis.
The position is made up of several different types of shares.
Musk-controlled trusts held approximately 849.5 million Class A shares and 3.92 billion Class B shares. He also held roughly 1.30 billion restricted Class B shares, while another 350 million Class B shares could be acquired through options exercisable within 60 days of June 30.
This is why simply saying “Musk owns 48.4% of SpaceX” can be misleading without context.
The SEC’s beneficial-ownership calculation includes shares that are subject to performance and other vesting conditions, as well as shares that can be obtained through currently exercisable options. Musk’s fully vested economic interest is therefore lower than the headline 48.4% figure.
For investors, the better wording is that Musk beneficially owns 48.4% on the basis used in the SEC filing, rather than assuming every share in that figure is unrestricted stock that could be sold immediately.
Why Musk Controls More of SpaceX Than He Economically Owns
The most important part of the ownership structure is not necessarily the 48.4% figure.
It is the voting power.
SpaceX has two main classes of common stock. Class A shares carry one vote per share. Class B shares carry 10 votes per share. SpaceX’s registration statement also gives Class B shareholders special rights related to electing a majority of the company’s board.
Musk controls billions of Class B shares. As a result, Reuters reported that he has controlled more than 82% of SpaceX’s voting power since the IPO, despite owning less than half of the company on the beneficial-ownership calculation.
That gives Musk an unusually strong position over major corporate decisions. Public shareholders can own a meaningful portion of SpaceX’s economic value without having comparable influence over management, board composition or strategic direction.
This is a familiar feature of dual-class technology companies, but the gap at SpaceX is particularly large.
Economic Ownership and Voting Control Are Not the Same Thing
Economic ownership describes how much of the company’s financial value is associated with a shareholder’s position. Voting power determines how much influence that shareholder can exercise in corporate decisions.
Those two percentages do not have to match.
Because each SpaceX Class B share carries 10 votes, Musk’s Class B holdings give him far more voting influence than an investor holding the same number of Class A shares.
In simple terms, an ordinary public investor and Musk can each own one share with the same economic claim on that class’s underlying value, but Musk’s Class B share may carry substantially greater voting power.
This structure allows the founder to raise large amounts of outside capital without surrendering effective control of the business.
Why Does SpaceX Have Class A and Class B Shares?
Dual-class structures are usually designed to preserve founder control. SpaceX can sell Class A shares to public investors while keeping a concentrated pool of higher-voting Class B shares in the hands of Musk and other eligible insiders.
The structure gives management more protection from short-term shareholder pressure and hostile attempts to change control of the company. For a business pursuing projects with unusually long development timelines — such as Starship, Starlink expansion and other capital-intensive infrastructure — supporters may argue that this allows management to make decisions without reacting to every quarterly change in market sentiment.
There is another side to the structure.
Public shareholders have less ability to influence management when voting power is concentrated in one individual. If investors disagree with Musk’s strategy, executive decisions or capital allocation, their ability to force change through shareholder votes is limited.
That makes governance part of the SpaceX investment case rather than a minor legal detail.
Musk’s Share Count Is Also Not the Same as Shares He Can Immediately Sell
The same caution applies when estimating the dollar value of Musk’s SpaceX holdings.
Multiplying 6.42 billion shares by the current stock price produces a very large theoretical value. Reuters estimated the disclosed position at more than $900 billion when reporting the filing.
That does not mean Musk has hundreds of billions of dollars in immediately accessible cash.
Part of the position consists of restricted shares subject to performance and other conditions. Another portion comes from options. Insider trading restrictions, lockups, securities laws and the market impact of selling an enormous block of stock can also limit liquidity.
For that reason, the market value of a founder’s stake should be treated as a paper valuation, not as cash sitting in a bank account.
SpaceX Is Now a Public Company
This is another area where older information can cause confusion. For years, one of the most common questions about SpaceX was whether retail investors could buy shares. The answer used to be no because SpaceX was privately held.
That changed in June 2026.
SpaceX went public on June 12, and its subsequent quarterly filing confirms that the company is now subject to SEC public-company reporting requirements. Its Class A shares trade under the ticker SPCX.
Public investors therefore have direct access to SpaceX equity in a way that was not possible during most of the company’s history.
What they are buying, however, is primarily Class A stock. They are not buying the same concentration of voting rights that Musk controls through Class B shares.
Can Public Investors Get the Same Voting Rights as Musk?
Ordinary Class A investors do not receive the same voting power per share. Class A carries one vote per share, while Class B carries 10.
The company’s governing documents also place restrictions on Class B transfers. Under specified circumstances, transferring Class B stock causes it to convert automatically into Class A stock. This helps prevent the super-voting rights from being freely transferred to outside investors.
As a result, buying a large number of publicly traded SpaceX shares would not automatically give an investor voting influence comparable with Musk’s.
Final Thoughts
Elon Musk remains the dominant shareholder and controlling figure at SpaceX, but the details are more nuanced than a single ownership percentage suggests.
According to his August 2026 SEC filing, Musk beneficially owned about 48.4% of SpaceX as of June 30, representing approximately 6.42 billion shares on the filing’s as-converted basis. That total includes ordinary shares, restricted Class B shares and shares underlying exercisable options.
His fully vested economic interest is therefore lower than the headline number. His influence over the company is considerably greater.
SpaceX’s Class B shares carry 10 votes for every one vote attached to a Class A share, allowing Musk to maintain more than 82% of the company’s voting power even after the IPO.
Musk does not need to own more than half of SpaceX to control it. The company’s share structure ensures that economic ownership and corporate control remain two very different things.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much of SpaceX does Elon Musk own?
According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on August 13, 2026, Musk beneficially owned approximately 48.4% of SpaceX as of June 30, representing about 6.42 billion shares on the filing’s as-converted basis.
Does Elon Musk own more than 50% of SpaceX?
Not according to the latest beneficial-ownership filing. His disclosed stake is 48.4%. However, he controls far more than 50% of the company’s voting power.
How much voting power does Musk have at SpaceX?
Reuters reported that Musk has controlled more than 82% of SpaceX’s voting power since the company went public.
