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Elon Musk denies UAE-Saudi investment in SpaceX

By Gavin Gibbon
People, Person, Man Reuters/Steve Nesius
SpaceX founder and chief engineer Elon Musk tweeted 'Not true' in response to claims about Gulf investors in his rocket company
  • Reported funding round expected to value SpaceX at about $140bn
  • Two Abu Dhabi-listed firms have each invested $25 million in SpaceX

Elon Musk has denied speculation suggesting investors from Saudi Arabia and the UAE are preparing to participate in a funding round for his SpaceX venture.

A report earlier this week, carried in US tech-focused publication The Information, said a unit of Saudi Arabia’s investment fund and an Abu Dhabi-based company are planning to invest in the Musk-led rocket company.

SpaceX and Morgan Stanley’s representatives told investors that Saudi Arabia’s Water and Electricity Holding Company, part of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, and UAE’s Alpha Dhabi are part of the funding round, according to the report.

It added the funding round is expected to value the rocket maker at about $140 billion.

But billionaire Musk, who also owns Twitter, took to the social media platform to deny the report.

His tweet in response to the story simply said: “Not true.”

Founded by Musk in 2002, SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches rockets and is also aiming to set up a base on Mars.

Rocket, Weapon, LaunchReuters/Thom Baur
Two Abu Dhabi-listed firms last year invested $25 million each in California-based SpaceX. Picture: Reuters/Thom Baur

SpaceX raised $2 billion in 2022 and $2.6 billion in 2020, according to venture capital firm Space Capital.

Two Abu Dhabi-listed firms last year invested $25 million each in the California-based rocket manufacturer.

International Holding Company first invested in SpaceX in 2020 through private equity fund Falcon CI IV and in June 2022 confirmed it had put in an additional $25 million.

At the same time, Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate Alpha Dhabi Holding also revealed it had invested $25 million in SpaceX.

In January Musk told jurors that he was certain he had financial support from Saudi investors in 2018 to take his electric car maker Tesla Inc private and could even have used his stake in SpaceX to fund a buyout.

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