Elon Musk spent part of his Saturday clearing up what he sees as misleading headlines about SpaceX's fundraising plans. According to the Tesla Inc. (TSLA) CEO, reports claiming SpaceX is seeking new funding at an $800 billion valuation simply aren't true.

"There has been a lot of press claiming @SpaceX is raising money at $800B, which is not accurate," Musk posted on X. Notably absent from his clarification? Any mention of the reported late 2026 IPO timeline that's been floating around.

Running on Its Own Steam

Here's the interesting bit: Musk says SpaceX has been generating positive cash flow for years now. The company doesn't need to raise money because, well, it's already making money. Instead, SpaceX runs stock buyback programs twice a year. The purpose isn't to bring in new capital but to give employees and existing investors a chance to cash out some shares.

What's Driving the Value Higher

So if they're not actively fundraising, why is the valuation climbing? Musk points to progress on Starship and Starlink, along with something particularly valuable: global direct-to-cell spectrum that significantly expands SpaceX's addressable market. The company even filed a "STARLINK MOBILE" trademark back in October, hinting at potential mobile network carrier operations.

Musk recently made a bold claim about Starship's potential impact. Once it's launching multiple times daily, he says the vehicle will carry about 99% of Earth's orbital payload mass—even if competitors triple their current launch rates.

The IPO Question Mark

SpaceX has remained private for nearly 25 years despite considerable investor interest. Previous reports have suggested a late 2026 IPO target, but Musk didn't address that timeline in his recent post. At Tesla's annual shareholder meeting in November, he did mention potentially taking SpaceX public, saying he wanted Tesla supporters to have the opportunity to own shares in the space company—despite acknowledging potential drawbacks.