12:17 PM EST, 01/21/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Tesla (TSLA) Chief Executive Elon Musk decided to push SpaceX toward an IPO as developing orbital data centers became his top priority in mid-2025, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Musk sees an IPO as a way to raise "tens of billions of dollars" to fund solar-powered AI satellites and orbital data centers, while also helping his AI company, xAI, catch up to rivals like Microsoft ( MSFT )-backed (MSFT) OpenAI and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL)-backed Anthropic, which are also eyeing public listings this year, the report added.

Musk seems eager for SpaceX to hit the public market first, with the company expected to pick banks to lead the offering soon. Musk has told people he wants to complete the IPO by July, according to the report.

In early December, SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen privately told some investors the company was exploring an IPO in 2026. Later that month, banks began pitching to lead the offering. On Dec. 12, Johnsen sent a memo to employees saying a key reason for exploring an IPO was "to deploy AI data centers in space," the report added.

SpaceX didn't immediately reply to MT Newswires' request for comment.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

Price: 443.77, Change: -10.76, Percent Change: -2.37