Elon Musk always does things in a big way. The same is true of his plans to take SpaceX public. But how investors will make out could depend on how much they like him. As Musk works to convince buyers that his rocket company could be valued at as much as $2 trillion, SpaceX is earmarking up to 30% of shares for “nonprofessional, noninstitutional investors” and “banking on the popularity” of the tech billionaire to help it raise as much as $75 billion from the stock offering, said The Guardian. And the so-called “retail” trade by his fans will be a “critical part of this and ​a bigger part than any IPO in history,” Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen said to bankers in a meeting on Monday, per Reuters.

SpaceX now includes xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence company, along with Starlink, Grok and the X social media platform. Money raised from the IPO would help SpaceX finance “launching artificial intelligence data centers into orbit, creating a colony on the moon and getting humans to Mars,” said The New York Times. But those are “expensive and unproven” technologies that could take “years and billions of dollars to achieve.”

What did the commentators say?
IPOs “used to fund growth,” said Brad Badertscher at The Conversation. Going public helped “young cash-strapped” companies like Amazon and Apple get traction, and “much of their dramatic growth” happened afterward. These days, most companies can now “raise billions privately” and, like SpaceX, only go public after they have entrenched themselves in the marketplace.

The SpaceX IPO could “showcase the free market at its best,” said Matthew Lynn at The Washington Post. The company is “pioneering innovative technologies and generating jobs and wealth.” Bringing along ordinary investors might add to those accomplishments, and giving regular people ownership of stocks gives them a “stake in the free market.” 

A “bumper crop of mega initial public offerings” is expected over the next year, said Jonathan Levin at Bloomberg. History suggests investors should “tread very, very carefully” when evaluating companies like SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic. Mega IPOs have “underperformed the market” on average in recent years. 

What next?
SpaceX could “trade like a meme stock” after the IPO, said MarketWatch. Stocks driven by “social media trends” are often prone to “high trading volumes and price volatility.” 

After an investigation by The New York Times, a British computer scientist has denied reports that he’s Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of bitcoin. The Times used biographical details and writing style comparisons to make the case that Adam Back is the cryptocurrency’s enigmatic founder. 

Who’s Adam Back? 
London-born Back, 55, has “long been seen as a potential candidate to be Nakamoto,” said The Times. “A pioneer of early digital asset research in the 1990s,” he has a “long-standing background in cryptography, the techniques used to secure and verify digital information.” This includes developing Hashcash, a “proof-of-work system that later influenced bitcoin” and was referenced by Nakamoto in his bitcoin “white paper.” Back dismissed The New York Times’ use of writing analyses to link him to Nakamoto as a “combination of coincidence and similar phrases from people with similar experience and interests.” 

Why is Nakamoto’s identity a secret? 
Nakamoto has only ever communicated under the pseudonym and since 2011 has made no public statements, giving the founder a “cult-like status among crypto enthusiasts,” said The Times. This anonymity is very on-brand for bitcoin. If the founder’s identity were known, they could become a leader or figurehead, contradicting the cryptocurrency’s core principle of decentralization. And there’s a security element. Nakamoto is thought to own $78 billion worth of bitcoin, so remaining anonymous lessens the risk of extortion or kidnapping. 

Has anyone else been suggested? 
In 2014, Newsweek identified a Japanese American systems engineer called Dorian Nakamoto as the creator of bitcoin — a claim that has “largely been debunked,” said the BBC. The following year, Wired suggested Nakamoto could be a pseudonym for Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist. Wright asserted that he was indeed Nakamoto, until a U.K. High Court judge ruled that he was not and must not claim to be the bitcoin founder. 

In 2024, an HBO documentary alleged that Canadian crypto expert Peter Todd was the real Nakamoto — a suggestion that he described as “ludicrous.” It’s also possible that the mysterious founder is not one person but rather a team of developers or cryptographers.

People light their phones as Hungarian opposition leader, head of the Tisza Party and candidate for prime minister Péter Magyar addresses supporters at a campaign rally in Gyor. He’s ahead in the polls for the country’s election on Sunday and may oust Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power.
Attila Kisbenedek / AFP / Getty 

Visiting a public garden is one of the best ways to get outside. You feel the sun’s warmth on your skin as you stroll by the trees and flowers in bloom, appreciating every leaf and petal. So give yourself the gift of fresh air and time well spent by taking a trip to one of these splendid gardens.

Edward James Sculpture Garden, Las Pozas, Mexico
During the 1960s, “eccentric” British poet and Surrealist art patron Edward James traveled to the Mexican rainforest and created this “otherworldly” sculpture garden, said The New York Times. Every area vies for your attention, and exploring this topsy-turvy landscape feels like “stepping into a dream.”

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Cape Town, South Africa
This trailblazing botanical garden, established in 1913, was the first in the world to focus solely on indigenous plants. A “high priority” is given to plants in the fynbos biome, like “stiff, structured proteas” and “shaggy, flowering ericas,” said The New York Times. Get a bird’s-eye view by taking the Tree Canopy Walkway, a curved bridge that offers “mountain vistas and sweeping forest views.”

Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
Conservatories, topiaries, aquatic plants, meadows, dazzling fountains and more await at the spectacular 1,100-acre Longwood Gardens (pictured above). The collection of plants is “incredible,” as is the main conservatory filled with “lush” displays that change seasonally, said USA Today.