Elon Musk is becoming the absolute ruler of SpaceX
Elon Musk wields unprecedented influence over the companies he leads. While he officially calls himself the "TechnoKing" at Tesla, it has become clear that at SpaceX, he is becoming the true sole ruler of one of the world's most valuable companies. Musk's monarchical control over SpaceX was reflected in IPO documents released on Wednesday. This is reported by Techcrunch.com .
After the IPO, Musk will hold the positions of CEO, CTO, and Chairman of the Board of Directors at SpaceX. Most importantly, he will retain over 50 percent of the voting power, allowing him to appoint directors as he wishes. In practice, it will be impossible to fire him. The company has limited shareholders' legal avenues for objection and leverages the lenient regulatory system of Texas.
SpaceX openly warns prospective investors, emphasizing that their ability to influence corporate matters and director elections is limited or non-existent. While founders of tech giants like Google and Meta have maintained control over the last two decades, Musk and SpaceX have taken this much further. Law professor Ann Lipton believes Musk is neutralizing all key tools shareholders use to pressure management.
The company uses a dual-class share structure, where Musk owns 93.6 percent of the non-public Class B "super-voting" shares. Even after this process, which is expected to be the largest IPO in history, Musk will not lose control. Under exchange standards, this makes SpaceX a "controlled company," exempting it from rules requiring independent oversight.
