Bitcoin accounting comes into focus as Musk’s SpaceX and xAI seal mega deal

Elon Musk’s decision to combine SpaceX with artificial intelligence company xAI has created a technology powerhouse that could eventually be valued near $1 trillion — and in the process has put one of the largest corporate bitcoin holdings back in the spotlight as the business moves closer to a potential public listing.

While the deal has been pitched as a push to develop “space-based AI,” the merged entity also inherits SpaceX’s long-standing bitcoin position, estimated at about 8,300 BTC based on earlier disclosures. At current prices, that holding is worth roughly $650 million — modest relative to a trillion-dollar valuation, but meaningful from an accounting, disclosure and investor-perception standpoint.

SpaceX first revealed its bitcoin purchase in 2021 and, unlike Musk’s publicly traded electric-vehicle maker Tesla, has remained private. That status has insulated the company from the quarter-to-quarter earnings volatility that public firms must report under fair-value accounting. As IPO preparations begin, that insulation would disappear.

Tesla’s own experience provides a useful reference point. The automaker has booked hundreds of millions of dollars in paper losses during periods of bitcoin price weakness, even when it did not alter its holdings. Similar swings could surface for SpaceX once it enters public markets.

The SpaceX–xAI merger also concentrates crypto exposure within a single corporate structure at a time when bitcoin has returned to heightened volatility following liquidation-driven selloffs. Unlike Tesla, which has sold and later repurchased bitcoin in the past, SpaceX appears to have maintained a largely hands-off approach to its holdings. That long-term stance may appeal to some investors, but it limits flexibility should market conditions deteriorate during an IPO window.

More broadly, the deal highlights lingering questions around how digital assets are managed across Musk’s broader business empire. Tesla, SpaceX and xAI have historically operated under different disclosure standards, accounting treatments and capital structures, reflecting their mix of public and private ownership — differences that may now require closer alignment as crypto exposure becomes more concentrated and more visible to investors.