Can Robinhood Buy SpaceX IPO Shares? Which Investment Banks Are Participating in Underwriting? How Can Retail Investors in Asia and Europe Invest in SpaceX?

TradingKey - According to Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, Elon Musk's SpaceX is expected to go public later this year, and Morgan Stanley's (MS) E*Trade unit is in talks with the company to serve as an underwriter for the transaction to meet the trading demands of U.S. retail investors. Currently, SpaceX is working with at least 21 banks to prepare for its IPO, marking one of the largest underwriting syndicates in recent years.

In addition to investment banks, brokerages are also expected to receive allocations of SpaceX IPO shares. Previous reports stated that Robinhood (HOOD) and SoFi (SOFI) the two emerging retail brokerages, were excluded from the distribution, but Musk has denied this information. Through which channels can retail investors purchase SpaceX IPO shares? How can investors in Asia and Europe participate?

SpaceX IPO: Latest News

According to tech media outlet The Information, SpaceX aims to complete its listing this June. The target fundraising size is as high as $75 billion, with a potential valuation exceeding $1.75 trillion, making it poised to become the largest IPO in history.

If this fundraising scale is successfully achieved, it will far exceed the total annual fundraising volume of the U.S. IPO market in 2025, while simultaneously breaking the record for the world's largest IPO set by Saudi Aramco in 2019, which raised approximately $29 billion.

Due to the completion of the all-stock acquisition of xAI in February this year, SpaceX's listing plans have become more complex. Starlink, SpaceX's core satellite internet service, currently has over 9.2 million active users and generated over $16 billion in revenue in 2025. Analysts predict this figure will reach $20 billion to $24 billion by 2026. However, xAI's cash burn rate is diluting Starlink's investment appeal; currently, xAI requires approximately $1 billion per month for AI infrastructure construction.

Additionally, SpaceX intends to adopt a dual-class share structure post-IPO to ensure absolute control over corporate decisions for insiders, primarily Musk. In terms of equity allocation, Musk hopes to tilt toward retail investors, and the retail allocation for the SpaceX IPO will be significantly increased—not only exceeding the typical 10% in most IPOs but potentially surpassing 20%. SpaceX is not expected to adopt the standard six-month insider lock-up period common in the IPO market.

Which Wall Street investment banks participated in the SpaceX IPO?

SpaceX is moving forward with an IPO plan internally codenamed "Apex" and has "handpicked" 21 banks to form a massive underwriting syndicate. Among them, the lead underwriters (active bookrunners) include Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs (GS) , JPMorgan Chase (JPM) , Bank of America (BAC) , and Citigroup (C). Morgan Stanley is viewed as the lead on the project due to its long-standing close cooperation with Musk.

Sources familiar with the matter revealed that another 16 banks are also involved, about half of which have not been previously reported; the plan is subject to change, and other banks may be added in the future.

SpaceX IPO Underwriting Syndicate List

What is a lead underwriter?

Lead underwriters are responsible for building the order book and determining the final offering price per share, the list of institutional investors eligible to purchase, and their respective allocations. Furthermore, they organize global roadshows and aim to prevent extreme stock price volatility in the early stages of the listing.

Among them, Morgan Stanley was designated as the primary lead role at the kickoff meeting due to its deep ties with Musk. Bank of America and Citi are responsible for distribution in the U.S. and global markets (especially emerging markets), respectively, while Goldman Sachs interfaces with Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds.

Besides the lead underwriters, what are the roles of the other banks?

These banks are spread across major global and emerging markets, responsible for mobilizing regional capital and identifying mid-sized funds and high-net-worth wealth management clients. For example, Canada's massive pension funds are managed through RBC; given the fervor of Japanese retail investors for Musk, Mizuho Securities handles domestic retail subscriptions in Japan; while UBS, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank focus on serving established European family offices and private banking clients.

SpaceX IPO: Which Channels Are Open to Retail Investors?

Based on public information, it is certain that E*TRADE, the retail trading platform owned by Morgan Stanley, will be open to retail investors. Reuters reports that E*TRADE will lead the retail distribution of SpaceX shares.

Although E*TRADE is far less well-known than Robinhood as a retail trading platform, it is one of the top retail brokerages in the U.S., with approximately 5.5 to 7 million active accounts, primarily serving sophisticated high-net-worth individuals. Its users tend to trade options, futures, and complex derivatives.

Entry requirements for retail investors to purchase SpaceX via E*TRADE

Under current policies, there are clear entry requirements for subscribing to SpaceX IPO shares via E*TRADE. Regarding assets, total account value (including cash and stocks) within an E*TRADE account is typically required to be no less than $250,000, and there must be sufficient available cash to cover the subscription amount at the time of interest submission.

E*TRADE requires subscribing investors to have a high risk tolerance. Furthermore, per FINRA rules, employees of banks or broker-dealers and their immediate family members are ineligible to participate.

E*TRADE is currently open for trading primarily to U.S. residents holding a Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). Non-U.S. residents cannot purchase SpaceX IPO shares directly through E*TRADE.

Beyond meeting all "hard" requirements, investors wishing to subscribe to SpaceX IPO shares must also meet "soft" requirements. Given that demand for SpaceX IPO shares is expected to far exceed supply, E*TRADE uses a complex internal ranking system for investors to allocate subscription rights.

Broadly speaking, Morgan Stanley's private banking and ultra-high-net-worth clients have top priority and are expected to receive the vast majority of the E*TRADE retail allocation. Sophisticated high-net-worth individuals with large E*TRADE account balances will follow in the second tier, where the platform favors active traders who hold long-term blue-chip positions and have extensive options trading experience. Other users—general investors who meet the basic entry criteria—will typically have their subscription rights determined through pro-rata allocation or a lottery system.

Emerging Retailers: Robinhood and SoFi

Recently, Reuters reported that SpaceX was considering excluding emerging retail brokerages Robinhood and SoFi from the distribution, despite their efforts to participate. However, Elon Musk quickly debunked these reports. On March 31, he clarified on X that retail brokerages such as Robinhood and SoFi would not be excluded.

Previous reports mentioned that the underwriting syndicate could still expand. With Musk considering allocating up to 30% of the IPO shares to retail investors, it is entirely possible that SpaceX will reconsider these two retailers with the largest retail user bases and include Robinhood and SoFi in the distributor group.

Compared to E*TRADE, the entry requirements for these two retail platforms are significantly lower.

On Robinhood, investors can open accounts with zero dollars and participate in IPO subscriptions through the "IPO Access" feature. Although there are no minimum account balance requirements, the platform's allocations are typically small. According to Robinhood's official website, its model randomly selects recipients for IPO shares, meaning all applicants have the same probability of receiving an allocation, regardless of the quantity requested. Regarding the number of shares awarded, Robinhood's website states that this is determined by share availability, customer demand, and other factors.

SoFi's website states that SoFi Active Investing members can invest in IPO shares with no minimum account balance. The platform allocates new shares based on several factors, including the subscriber's deposits in SoFi Money accounts, assets on the SoFi Invest platform, and any previous policy violations during prior IPO subscriptions.

However, both retail platforms require investors to have a U.S. Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), and they must be U.S. citizens, Green Card holders, or valid visa holders.

One special circumstance worth noting is that while SoFi offers trading services in Hong Kong, these are provided through its overseas subsidiary, SoFi Hong Kong, which operates independently from the U.S.-based SoFi. SoFi HK is regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong; therefore, underwriting allocations obtained by the U.S. entity cannot be shared internationally with SoFi HK.

How Asian and European Investors Can Purchase SpaceX IPO Shares

As previously mentioned, the distribution of SpaceX IPO shares in the Asia-Pacific region primarily relies on Mizuho Securities and Macquarie Bank. In Europe, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and UBS all provide IPO subscription services.

Investors wishing to subscribe directly through these distributors can check for information on the official websites of these investment banks; however, some distributors, such as UBS, only provide this service to high-net-worth clients.

Taking Barclays as an example, its official website indicates that information regarding current and potential IPOs can be found online, but not all IPOs are available through the Barclays Smart Investor platform. The platform typically accepts applications from UK residents and does not charge transaction fees for IPO subscriptions.

In addition to direct subscription with investment banks, investors may also consider an alternative route as these distributors often allocate share portions to local brokers. For instance, Mizuho Securities might allocate shares to Japan's SBI Securities or Rakuten Securities due to their large retail investor bases. For international distribution, Citi or UBS might partner with Futu (Moomoo) or Tiger Brokers to cover Hong Kong, Singapore, and other European regions.

SpaceX IPO Subscription Checklist for Non-U.S. Investors

Is the W-8BEN form updated? Regardless of the platform used, non-U.S. residents must ensure that the W-8BEN tax form in their brokerage account is within its validity period.

Does the platform support U.S. IPO subscriptions? Some brokers do not receive share allocations from investment banks.

Investor Eligibility Requirements: Generally, only investors meeting certain criteria are granted subscription opportunities. For example, the Moomoo platform stipulates that in Singapore, only "Accredited Investors" (AI) can subscribe to U.S. IPOs. This is a financial threshold established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), where an individual qualifies as an AI with an annual income of at least SGD 300,000 over the past 12 months or net financial assets exceeding SGD 1 million. For non-accredited investors, Moomoo requires a minimum investment of SGD 200,000 or the equivalent for such IPOs. Similar definitions apply in other regions.