Elon Musk's SpaceX recently completed the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history. The rocket company raised $75 billion, with Goldman Sachs serving as the lead-left bookrunner, after pricing shares at $135 each, giving SpaceX a valuation of $1.77 trillion.
Goldman Sachs CEO Denies Pitching Musk via X DMs
In the run-up to the IPO, reports emerged suggesting that Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon had to pitch the bank's involvement in the offering through direct messages on X (formerly Twitter) because Musk was not answering his calls. Solomon has since dismissed those claims as "unfortunately untrue," saying they stemmed from a misunderstanding about how he communicates with the SpaceX chief.
Speaking on a Bloomberg podcast, Solomon was asked whether he had used direct messages on X to pitch Musk about the IPO. In response, he explained that his conversations with Musk had shifted to X because the billionaire had stopped using traditional communication channels such as phone calls, text messages and email.
"So with respect to the DM, unfortunately, it's untrue that I pitched Elon via DM about the deal. What is true, and this is the way facts get confused. Elon, some point in the last year, stopped taking texts on his phone, or emails, and started telling people that he knew that if he wanted to get in touch with him, direct message him on X," Solomon said on the podcast.
According to Solomon, he and Musk regularly exchange messages on X about a variety of subjects, but discussions about the SpaceX IPO were not among them.
"And so, because I have a relationship where I reach out to Elon, and we exchange messages about a whole variety of different things. I stopped sending him texts on his phone and started direct messaging him when I wanted to. So, I went back and looked at the chain [of messages with Musk on X]. On my X account over the last six months, just to make sure I wasn't wrong about this when I saw it in the press. I said, 'I don't think this is true,'" he added.
Clarifying that no direct messages related to the IPO were sent to Musk, Solomon said, "And I never asked Elon in a text message about the IPO." Instead, Goldman Sachs worked directly with SpaceX executives and the company's deal team throughout the public offering process.
"We focussed on his team. We focussed on the work that we had to do, and we're really proud and pleased to be leading this, and we're gonna do everything we can working with the other banks to get the best result that we can for SpaceX," he explained.
How SpaceX's Historical IPO Made Elon Musk World's First Trillionaire
Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire after SpaceX's stock market debut. SpaceX shares were priced at $135, opened at $150, climbed as high as $176.50 during trading, and closed at around $161. Following the listing, Musk's net worth reached approximately $1.11 trillion, according to Bloomberg.
Musk owns about 42% of SpaceX, giving him significant control over the company. Bloomberg estimated his SpaceX holdings were worth $767.1 billion, with an additional $53.8 billion in SpaceX options. He also holds about $168 billion in Tesla shares and $116.4 billion in Tesla options. The SpaceX IPO is also larger than the previous record set by Saudi Aramco in 2019.
