Elon’s Trillionaire Coronation

Summary of Elon’s Trillionaire Coronation

by Puck | Audacy

22m•June 5, 2026
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Overview of Elon’s Trillionaire Coronation

In this episode of The Powers That Be, Peter Hamby and Bill Cohan examine the coming SpaceX IPO and what it could mean for Elon Musk’s wealth, the AI market, and Wall Street’s appetite for hype. The discussion centers on SpaceX’s possible valuation near $1.7–$1.8 trillion, which could make Musk the world’s first trillionaire, while also comparing SpaceX’s market debut to the expected public offerings of OpenAI and Anthropic. The core theme: these are massive, highly marketed companies entering public markets amid a frenzy of optimism, but not all of them have proven durable profits yet.

SpaceX IPO and Elon Musk’s Growing Empire

A potential trillion-dollar milestone

  • SpaceX is preparing for a blockbuster IPO that could be the largest in history by money raised.
  • The valuation under discussion is roughly $1.8 trillion, with the company aiming to raise tens of billions of dollars.
  • Bill Cohan argues Musk may already be a “trillionaire on paper,” and this IPO would formalize that status.

What actually drives the value

  • The strongest part of the SpaceX story is Starlink, which Cohan calls the real jewel of the business.
  • The core rocket/space business is described as roughly break-even to modestly profitable, not obviously worth the headline valuation by itself.
  • Musk’s AI-related holdings and the X/XAI complex are viewed skeptically, with the combined business described as losing billions.

Musk’s control

  • Musk reportedly owns about 45% of SpaceX, giving him dominant control.
  • Cohan suggests Musk has effectively complete strategic power over the company.
  • There is speculation that Musk could eventually combine Tesla and SpaceX to keep the “hype machine” going and boost investor enthusiasm.

The AI IPO Wave: OpenAI and Anthropic

Public-market debut as a liquidity event

  • OpenAI and Anthropic are also signaling plans to go public.
  • Their IPOs are framed as part of the same Wall Street cycle: private investors want liquidity, and banks want fee-rich deals.

Huge valuations before profits

  • Anthropic is cited at around $950 billion and OpenAI at around $850 billion in pre-IPO valuation talk.
  • Cohan argues these companies are massively overvalued relative to earnings, EBITDA, or revenue.
  • The concern is that public-market enthusiasm is racing ahead of demonstrated profitability.

401(k)s and retirement accounts

  • The hosts flag the possibility that these stocks could end up in 401(k)s, pensions, and retirement accounts.
  • Cohan is skeptical, warning that the volatility and valuations make them risky for ordinary investors.
  • He sees this as another example of retail investors being last in and potentially holding the bag.

Market Dynamics: Hype, Underwriters, and Risk

Wall Street’s role

  • Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are portrayed as highly skilled at packaging and selling these offerings.
  • The banks are incentivized to push the IPOs because the fees will be enormous.
  • Cohan says the market is currently very receptive to “Magnificent Seven”-style tech stories.

A broader speculative environment

  • The conversation warns that the market is in a “risk-on” mood where caution is fading.
  • Cohan compares the current moment to past bubbles:
    • Enron
    • WorldCom
    • the dot-com/fiber infrastructure boom
  • His point: even when the underlying infrastructure or technology survives, the original public investors often get burned.

Regulatory backdrop

  • The episode briefly notes a lighter regulatory environment that may make it easier for companies to go public and disclose less afterward.
  • That adds to the sense that the current market environment is unusually permissive.

Key Takeaways

  • SpaceX is likely the most credible of the group, mainly because of Starlink and its established physical infrastructure business.
  • Musk’s power and brand are central to the valuation story; investors are buying into the persona as much as the company.
  • OpenAI and Anthropic are riding the AI boom, but their path to public markets looks driven as much by hype and liquidity demand as by profitability.
  • Retail investors should be cautious: the episode repeatedly warns that overhyped IPOs often reward early insiders and punish late buyers.
  • This is a classic Wall Street cycle: banks hype, institutions buy early, retail chases later, and the market eventually tests whether the story was real.

Bottom Line

The episode frames Musk’s looming SpaceX IPO as both a financial milestone and a symbol of the current market’s speculative excess. Starlink gives SpaceX a real business foundation, but the $1.8 trillion valuation reflects a broader faith in Musk’s mythos and execution. OpenAI and Anthropic are presented as the next big test of whether AI enthusiasm can justify enormous public-market valuations—or whether investors are once again buying the story before the profits.