Elon Musk demands banks that want to advise on SpaceX’s blockbuster IPO must buy subscriptions to his AI chatbot, Grok, report says

Some banks have already agreed to spend tens of millions on Grok, with the chatbot already being integrated into their IT systems. The banks' names, however, were not disclosed in the paperwork filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this month.

SpaceX is slated to be the largest IPO in history, at an approximate $1.75 trillion (2). With fewer companies (3) making it to public offering, Wall Street is eager for this landmark deal.

As of February 2026, Grok became a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX.

Into the great wide open

So, why is Musk making Grok mandatory for banks? He wants to generate recurring enterprise contracts for xAI. This would shift revenue from individual users to big business.

Ahmad Shadid, co-founder of the confidential development environment, ORGN, shared his concerns with Moneywise.

"These banks stand to benefit immensely from one of the biggest IPOs in history, with potential underwriting fees estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars, so Elon finds himself in a position of power and unusual leverage where he can easily demand something in return," he said. "What could benefit him more than direct revenue into a company that is not profitable?"

The Grok subscription injects revenue directly into xAI, which is now part of the consolidated SpaceX group. Income from subscriptions and enterprise contracts from big banks is a huge boost.

"These banks are potentially thinking that the money they will get from underwriting fees and the IPO's prestige will probably dwarf the tens of millions they will pay annually for Grok subscriptions," Shadid added.

He added that large and long-term enterprise contracts are strong signals to investors, making fundraising and IPO easier.