Elon Musk overcomes SpaceX's largest IPO obstacle in history, settles with the SEC, and pays a $120 million fine to the EU: I love Jensen Huang, continuing to buy Nvidia chips.

Elon Musk is negotiating a settlement with the SEC over the delayed disclosure of his Twitter holdings in 2022. This move is seen as the final legal hurdle to an IPO that could value SpaceX at up to $1.75 trillion; simultaneously, X has paid a €120 million fine to the EU, and SpaceX AI along with Tesla have announced ongoing large-scale purchases of NVIDIA chips.
(Background: U.S. national debt surpasses $39 trillion, with 30-year yields soaring near 4.9%; meanwhile, Japan, the UK, and China continue to increase holdings.)
(Additional context: Trump clarifies Israel airstrike comments: “I don’t know”—no more attacks on the South Pars gas field, but provocative actions against U.S. military could face unprecedented retaliation.)

Table of Contents

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• How SEC sued: 21 days, $500 million, incorrect form filing
• X paid EU fine and still reserves the right to appeal
• NVIDIA: the chip supplier for Musk’s empire
• Is the IPO path clear? Lessons from the crypto market

The countdown to SpaceX’s IPO is shadowed by a securities disclosure dispute from three years ago—but that shadow seems to be lifting. According to court documents cited by Axios, Musk is in settlement negotiations with the SEC over delaying disclosure of his Twitter stake from March to April 2022. The main reason: SpaceX’s bankers want to resolve this unresolved legal issue before launching the IPO.

How SEC sued: 21 days, $500 million, incorrect form filing

In January 2025, the SEC officially sued Musk, accusing him of delaying disclosure of his more than 5% Twitter stake by 11 days after acquiring it in 2022—more than double the legal 10-day deadline.

This 11-day delay did not come without cost—the SEC alleges Musk used this period to buy more shares at artificially low prices, saving over $500 million in the process. The SEC is seeking civil fines and the return of approximately $150 million that Musk allegedly saved.

More complicated is that Musk filed as a “13G” passive investor—intended for small shareholders not seeking to influence company management. However, his subsequent actions—massive buying, takeover attempts, firing executives—are characteristic of active investors who should have filed a “13D” form. Musk claims the delay was unintentional and accuses the SEC of infringing on free speech.

Notably, Musk’s lawyer told the court this month that the current settlement talks are proceeding without SEC enforcement lawyers involved, indicating a unique communication channel between the parties.

X paid EU fine and still reserves the right to appeal

Meanwhile, X’s compliance efforts in Europe have advanced. An EU Commission spokesperson confirmed that X paid a €120 million fine before the deadline and submitted a remediation plan regarding the Blue Check verification process.

The fine stems from an investigation under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), which found X’s paid verification system misleading users. Payment does not mean admission of guilt—X also announced it is appealing the ruling, meaning the regulatory dispute is not yet resolved.

NVIDIA: the chip supplier for Musk’s empire

Beyond legal and regulatory pressures, Musk recently expressed strong support for NVIDIA on social media, calling himself a “super fan” of Jensen Huang and NVIDIA, and stating that SpaceX AI and Tesla will continue large-scale purchases of NVIDIA chips.

This is notable because Musk’s companies—xAI and Tesla—have previously emphasized developing their own AI chips to reduce reliance on external suppliers. Now, praising NVIDIA and confirming ongoing procurement may reflect the difficulty in meeting compute demands for projects like Grok and FSD, or could be a signal of “robust AI infrastructure investment” ahead of SpaceX’s IPO.

Is the IPO path clear? Lessons from the crypto market

If SpaceX’s valuation truly reaches $1.75 trillion, surpassing Meta and Tesla, it would be the largest tech IPO in history. Once the SEC settlement is reached and legal uncertainties are cleared, bankers could start roadshows as early as June.

For the crypto market, this signals several implications: first, if Musk’s entities (xAI, Tesla, SpaceX) continue expanding their AI compute capacity, risk appetite for tech stocks and compute-related assets could rise, boosting overall market sentiment; second, a successful SpaceX IPO at a high valuation would reaffirm the “liquidity premium for mega-cap tech assets,” benefiting large-cap cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in institutional portfolios.

If regulatory hurdles are gradually removed, Musk’s tech empire is moving toward a more transparent and market-driven phase.