SpaceX is paying borrowing costs comparable to personal loans as investors demand high yields on its debt, reflecting growing uncertainty over the company’s ability to translate rapid expansion and artificial intelligence ambitions into sustained profits, according to reporting by El País cited in the source material.
The Spanish newspaper El País describes a striking contrast between the company’s soaring valuation and the cost of its financing. Despite SpaceX’s rapid rise in market value—briefly placing it among the world’s most valuable companies with a valuation exceeding $2 trillion—the company is now issuing debt at interest levels that approach those of personal loans in Spain, where average rates hover around 7% depending on creditworthiness.
SpaceX has long relied on borrowing to fund its capital-intensive operations, but its financing strategy has expanded significantly following a major market debut that raised $75 billion in what is described as the largest listing in history. The company has since begun tapping bond markets more aggressively, including a recent $25 billion issuance in long-dated debt with maturities extending up to 30 years.
According to El País, those bonds were initially issued with coupons ranging between 5.3% and 6.5%, but secondary market trading has pushed yields higher as prices fell. As a result, investors buying the debt on the open market are now securing returns of up to 6% on 10-year bonds and nearly 6.9% on 30-year bonds. The rise in yields reflects investor demand for higher compensation to hold the company’s obligations amid uncertainty about future earnings.
The report notes that SpaceX is using the proceeds of its borrowing to refinance earlier obligations, including a loan taken to support its planned merger with xAI, the artificial intelligence laboratory led by Elon Musk. The structure of its financing underscores how closely the company’s space operations and AI ambitions are now intertwined, with debt markets effectively funding both segments of its expansion strategy.
El País highlights that investors remain divided over the company’s long-term creditworthiness. While SpaceX has achieved strong equity market momentum and continues to attract significant investor attention, its bond performance is shaped more by institutional credit assessments than retail enthusiasm. Analysts cited in the reporting say investors are still assessing whether SpaceX can generate consistent profits, particularly as its more ambitious revenue streams—such as space-based data infrastructure—remain unproven.
The company’s financing costs stand in contrast to those of other major technology firms. The report notes that Amazon pays roughly one percentage point less on comparable debt, translating into substantial annual savings on large-scale borrowing. This gap illustrates how SpaceX’s credit profile is currently perceived as riskier than some of its established peers despite its scale and market valuation.
Market conditions alone do not fully explain the elevated borrowing costs. According to El País, US interest rates have eased since 2024, and benchmark Treasury yields have remained relatively stable, suggesting that SpaceX’s premium reflects company-specific risk rather than broader macroeconomic pressures.
Analysts quoted in the report describe SpaceX’s credit profile as unusual, shaped by expectations that are still evolving alongside its business model. While the company holds investment-grade ratings from major agencies, including S&P Global, Moody’s, and Fitch, it sits at the lower end of that category, placing it alongside large but leveraged corporations in traditional industries.
The reporting also notes that SpaceX recorded a loss of $4.3 billion in the first quarter of this year, driven in part by heavy investment in artificial intelligence-related initiatives. That compares with a significantly smaller loss in the same period a year earlier, underscoring the volatility of its financial trajectory as spending accelerates.
Despite its credit rating, investors continue to demand higher yields, with some analysts suggesting that SpaceX’s debt pricing reflects skepticism about its ability to generate stable cash flows. Comparisons have also been drawn to other heavily indebted technology firms, where rising borrowing costs have previously weighed on equity valuations and investor sentiment.
The El País report further notes that while enthusiasm for Elon Musk’s ventures has supported SpaceX’s equity valuation, bond investors are responding more cautiously. The result is a widening gap between market optimism and credit-market scrutiny, with debt holders effectively pricing in higher risk.
Ultimately, the company’s growing reliance on expensive borrowing raises broader questions about financing in the artificial intelligence and advanced technology sectors. As SpaceX continues to expand its ambitions across space infrastructure and AI-linked ventures, its rising debt costs remain a central marker of how financial markets are reassessing risk in one of the world’s most closely watched technology companies.
