• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

2

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer

3

When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all

1

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

2

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer

3

When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all
TechElon Musk

Tesla is getting pummeled in the stock market, but Elon Musk’s other companies are having a field day in the secondary market—especially xAI

Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
By
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
By
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 14, 2025, 7:03 AM ET
Tesla CEO Elon Musk (right) poses with President Donald Trump in front of a Tesla.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk (right) poses with President Donald Trump in front of a Tesla.Andrew Harnik—Getty Images
  • Elon Musk’s private companies are a hot commodity on private markets, with the value of SpaceX, Neuralink, the Boring Company, and xAI shooting up by 45% since last year’s presidential election, according to data by secondary market trading platform Caplight. Yet, as investors in private markets chase shares of Musk’s private companies, Tesla shares have lost around half their value.

While Tesla’s share price has taken a beating recently, a fall from grace one JPMorgan analyst says may have no equal, the value of Elon Musk’s private companies has soared in the four months since Donald Trump won the election.

Recommended Video

The cumulative value of SpaceX, Neuralink, the Boring Company, and xAI has shot up 45% on private markets since last November, according to data provided to Fortune by secondary market trading platform Caplight. Musk’s social media company X was not factored into the calculation because of a lack of interest from investors on the secondary market.

Shares of private companies are not listed on stock exchanges, so when early employees or VCs want to offload shares, they do so through a more labored process on the secondary market. Caplight helps facilitate these off-stock market sales by aggregating data on hundreds of brokers and matching institutional investors with brokers, similar to how Zillow matches prospective home buyers to real-estate agents in the housing market.

Leading the rally among Musk’s private companies is his artificial-intelligence company, xAI, which has gained traction among investors looking to capitalize on the latest high-tech advancements. The company’s share price has skyrocketed 110% since the November election, according to Caplight, which has given the startup a valuation of around $96 billion. 

The AI company is rumored to be raising a $10 billion funding round at a $75 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported last month. Caplight’s valuation for xAI is higher because of the increased demand from institutional investors outside of those participating in the reported funding round.

Shares of SpaceX have also jumped more than 50% since the election, according to the Caplight data. Worst among Musk’s non-Tesla enterprises was the Boring Company, which experienced a 7.8% decline in value since last year’s election.

In contrast to the stellar performance of his private companies, shares of Musk’s only public company, Tesla, have lost around 50% of their value since peaking at $479.86 in December. Shares of the EV company closed down 3% Thursday at $240 per share.

Private companies have for years been staying private longer, opening up more opportunities to investors in the secondary market. The median company was just under 11 years old at IPO as of 2021, compared to seven years old in 1980, according to Morningstar, and Caplight CEO Javier Avalos said some tech companies, in particular, have remained private for years because of the relative ease of fundraising. 

“When you’re talking about companies that are literally building rocket ships, implanting chips in people’s brains, building frontier large language models, it is easier to navigate those against your core mission when you don’t have to answer to the next quarter’s earnings call and the analysts that are going to ask you a lot of questions,” Avalos said.

Although private companies don’t benefit directly from stock sales on the secondary market like they do from a funding round, it’s increasingly common for private companies to execute multiple tender offers per year, where shareholders can offload their holdings. Among Musk’s companies, SpaceX often executes tender offers to help keep investors and employees happy, Avalos said.

“This is an opportunity for shareholders to get some liquidity on their shares, which sort of satisfies what used to be a huge need of going public,” he said. “You needed to go public because your venture capitalists and your early employees were sort of pressuring the company, saying, like, ‘I need liquidity.’”

About the Author
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezReporter
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Role: Reporter
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez is a reporter for Fortune covering general business news.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

elon
Startups & VentureWealth
Elon’s wealth: 1 trillion dollar bills would stretch 97 million miles, to the moon and back over 200x
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips and The Associated PressJune 12, 2026
22 minutes ago
With SpaceX IPO, Elon Musk is the world’s first trillionaire — but he mostly lives in a tiny home in south Texas. ‘There is no food in the fridge’
Startups & VentureElon Musk
With SpaceX IPO, Elon Musk is the world’s first trillionaire — but he mostly lives in a tiny home in south Texas. ‘There is no food in the fridge’
By Jason MaJune 12, 2026
30 minutes ago
Elon Musk’s wealth could double the economy of his native South Africa as world’s first trillionaire
Startups & VentureElon Musk
Elon Musk’s wealth could double the economy of his native South Africa as world’s first trillionaire
By The Associated Press and Wyatte Grantham-PhilipsJune 12, 2026
43 minutes ago
musk
Startups & VentureSpaceX
Elon Musk, the trillionaire: pay packets go multi-planetary in SpaceX IPO
By Bernard Condon and The Associated PressJune 12, 2026
1 hour ago
Warehouse workers with robot
SuccessJobs
Walmart has a message for its 2.1 million workers: AI is going to improve your job, not take it: ‘Technology will power our future’
By Emma BurleighJune 12, 2026
1 hour ago
blunt
Arts & EntertainmentReligion
Aliens are so mainstream the Catholic Church just fired an exorcist for saying UFOs are demons
By Krysta Fauria and The Associated PressJune 12, 2026
1 hour ago

Most Popular

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
Environment
Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
By Catherina GioinoJune 9, 2026
3 days ago
Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
Energy
Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
By Sasha RogelbergJune 10, 2026
2 days ago
When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all
Investing
When SpaceX starts trading, some 'shareholders' will discover they own nothing at all
By Jim EdwardsJune 12, 2026
6 hours ago
Current price of oil as of June 11, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 11, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 11, 2026
1 day ago
Marc Lore’s robots make 500 burrito bowls an hour. A human can make 45
Innovation
Marc Lore’s robots make 500 burrito bowls an hour. A human can make 45
By Amanda GerutJune 9, 2026
3 days ago
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
Success
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
By Preston ForeJune 8, 2026
4 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.