Tom Mueller was employee number one at SpaceX, a company he co-founded with Elon Musk in 2002. Now, more than two decades later, the rocket builder is poised to make its public market debut with an estimated worth of more than $1.8 trillion.
In an interview with the BBC’s Michelle Fleury, Mueller reflected on Musk’s vision and the company’s journey from a startup to a giant preparing to list on the stock exchange. The exact date of the debut has not been announced, but the valuation cements SpaceX as one of the most valuable private companies in history.
“Spacex co-founder Tom Mueller reflects on $1.8tn market debut as firm goes public.”
Mueller, who served as SpaceX's first employee and co-founder, saw the company grow from a handful of staff to a workforce of thousands, launching rockets, satellites, and crewed missions. The upcoming market listing marks a milestone for the firm that began with Musk's ambition to reduce space transportation costs and enable Mars colonization.
“I was employee number one,” Mueller said in the BBC interview, recalling the early days of the company. He spoke about Musk’s determination and the challenges of building a rocket company from scratch.
The IPO is expected to be one of the largest in history, with SpaceX’s $1.8 trillion price tag dwarfing most publicly traded companies. For Mueller, seeing the company he helped create reach this point is a testament to the original vision. “It’s incredible to see what we built,” he added.
As SpaceX prepares to go public, the market will watch closely to see how the company’s ambitious plans for Starship and Starlink translate into shareholder value. For Mueller, the journey from employee number one to co-founder of a trillion-dollar company is nearly complete.