Elon Musk publicly applauded Jeff Bezos after the Amazon founder revealed a $28 billion personal bet on Blue Origin, his private rocket company. Bezos also floated a future Blue Origin IPO.
The praise stands out because the two billionaires have competed for launch contracts and satellite internet customers for years. Musk’s own rocket company, SpaceX, went public in June.
Why Did Bezos Finally Let Outside Investors In?
Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000. The company builds reusable rockets and lunar landers, and it competes with SpaceX for NASA and military launch work.
Bezos shared the figures with Fox News anchor Bret Baier. The two spoke on the Blue Origin factory floor in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
He said the company recently raised $10 billion from outside backers. It marked the first external round in the company’s 26-year history.
Baier added that demand for the round exceeded the shares on offer.
Moreover, Bezos explained why he waited so long to let others in.
“I didn’t really want to take outside investors until I was sure that it would be a good investment for them.”
Jeff Bezos told Fox
The same interview also touched on a possible Blue Origin IPO.
A conservative account on X then shared the clip as a defense of billionaires. Musk replied with brief praise, saying he was glad Bezos “cares so much about space.”
How Far Off Is a Blue Origin IPO?
Still, Bezos signaled that a Blue Origin IPO is not close. He said the company will “someday” go public, but likely “several years from now.”
However, he added that it “probably makes sense” for Blue Origin to become a public company eventually.
Even after the raise, Blue Origin trails SpaceX by a wide margin. Musk’s company reached a $1.77 trillion valuation in its June listing.
That gap matters for investors. Morgan Stanley, for instance, says SpaceX stock could double from recent levels.
SpaceX’s valuation has also become the bar for other giant listings. Anthropic’s IPO filing suggests a listing that could value it above $2 trillion.
Meanwhile, the rivalry extends beyond rockets. Musk recently said Delta’s CEO would lose his job for rejecting Starlink for Amazon Leo.
In the near term, Blue Origin plans to return its New Glenn rocket to flight in December. Eventually, a Blue Origin IPO would give public investors a second large space bet. For now, SpaceX remains the clear heavyweight in that market.