SpaceX's minority shareholders may have made giant leaps to date, but now it seems Elon Musk is taking them for a ride

To Elon Musk's fan club, there is nothing to see apart from more evidence of the great man's visionary genius.

- Nils Pratley

SpaceX, the rocket firm, is buying xAI, the artificial intelligence developer, and the combination of these two Musk-controlled entities is being valued at $1.25tn (£915bn). Feel the positive vibes ahead of a stock market debut due in June! The most valuable private company in history! The largest ever transaction!Or, as Musk described it, he is creating "the most ambitious, vertically integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth, with AI, rockets, space-based internet, direct-to-mobile device communications and the world's foremost real-time information and free-speech platform".

SpaceX's minority shareholders may have a less stellar view. From their perspective, this all-share transaction must look less like an attempt to 'accelerate humanity's future' and more like an instant bailout of the loss-making xAI, conducted with minimal scrutiny of valuation or a meaningful attempt to seek their views.