Musk’s Mars Colony Plans And SpaceX Control Could Derail Starlink Profits, Analyst Says

BreakingBusinessMusk’s Mars Colony Plans And SpaceX Control Could Derail Starlink Profits, Analyst SaysByTy Roush,Forbes Staff. Ty Roush is a breaking news reporter based in New York City.Follow AuthorMay 21, 2026, 10:18am EDTToplineSpaceX filed plans to take the company public in paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission, offering rare insight into the finances of the aerospace giant owned by Elon Musk, whose compensation plan—and massive voting power—to establish a colony on Mars worried one analyst. A new filing offers rare insight into the finances of Elon Musk’s aerospace giant. Getty ImagesKey FactsSpaceX, indicating plans to “make life multiplanetary,” disclosed on Wednesday that nearly 1 billion Class B shares would be awarded to Musk after the company achieves several market value milestones and after SpaceX establishes a “permanent human colony” of at least 1 million residents.Musk controls 85% of SpaceX’s shareholder voting power with nearly 850 million Class A shares and 5.57 billion Class B shares, and no other person or entity has a larger stake than 5%, according to SpaceX’s filing.Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida and director of its market research program, the IPO Initiative, told Forbes he was concerned that SpaceX would rely on Starlink profits to send people to Mars at “enormous cost,” and that “enormous” subsidies would be required to maintain a Mars colony.“If [Musk] continues to have a great desire to colonize Mars, there is little that shareholders can do about it” because of Musk’s voting control, Ritter said, even as Musk has a duty to maximize shareholder value. if (!window.cnxel) { window.cnxel = {}; window.cnxel.cmd = []; var iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.style.display = 'none'; iframe.onload = function() { var iframeDoc = iframe.contentWindow.document; var script = iframeDoc.createElement('script'); script.src = '//cd.elements.video/player.js?cid=62cec241-7d09-4462-afc2-f72f8d8...