Tesla Motors, SolarCity’s Elon Musk Says No SpaceX IPO Now

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Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO and SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) Chairman Elon Musk seems to have the golden touch. He launched two green companies into public success in such a short time and on the heels of a string of other successes, including PayPal.

Tesla Motors, SolarCity's Elon Musk Says No SpaceX IPO Now

Now investors want to know if we’ll see a third successful public company from Musk. Will SpaceX go public? Musk says it won’t be any time soon.

Rallies For Tesla, SolarCity

The reason investors are so interested in the near future of SpaceX is because of Musk’s solid success with both Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY). Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares have risen 186 percent year to date, according to Forbes writer Steve Schaefer. He says SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) shares are up 212 percent this year.

Why SpaceX Won’t Go Public Soon

So why wouldn’t Musk want to continue his winning streak with a third initial public offering in three years? You might say he’s got his plate full, so to speak, but today he tweeted his reasons for keeping SpaceX private for now.

He said an IPO for the company might be possible in the “very long term when Mars Colonial Transporter is flying regularly.” He also said that it’s “easier said than done” and that there’s lots of pressure from investors.

“It is hard not to feel super bad if u don’t make ur qtr.,” he tweeted.

And finally, he also said he doesn’t want to put pressure on the SpaceX team to push through a launch in time for the end of the quarter and perhaps miss something. “Passing grade for a rocket is 100%,” he said.

Continued Speculation About Another IPO For Musk

Many investors have been expecting to see a SpaceX IPO because the company has received billions of dollars’ worth of contracts, including a deal with NASA. Those contracts last through 2017.

So Musk has his reasons for keeping SpaceX private right now, and they make sense. Besides, why take a business that’s as risky as SpaceX is right now through an IPO when Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SolarCity Corp (NASDAQ:SCTY) are both at such pivotal moments, both in their own futures and in the future of energy?

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