An AI company with an arsenal of spacecraft: what exactly is SpaceX?

Hello and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, US tech editor at the Guardian, writing to you as I listen to George Handel’s Messiah this Easter.

We get an unprecedented, detailed look into one of the world’s largest and strangest economic empires

SpaceX confidentially filed for an initial public offering on the U.S. stock market last week at a reportedly astronomical valuation. My colleague Nick Robins-Early reports:

Elon Musk’s company, which has become a dominant force in both space travel and satellite communications, could seek a valuation of more than $1.75 trillion. The confidential filing gives regulators time to review and discuss the company’s financial disclosures before investors and the public can view them.

The IPO could take place as early as June, Bloomberg reported, in what is expected to be a record year for high-quality IPOs. Musk’s rival OpenAI is also planning to go public later this year with an immense price…