The $1.75 Trillion Lesson Wall Street Just Taught Everyday Investors
SpaceX's historic IPO minted fortunes — but almost none of them belonged to retail investors. Here's the private-stage playbook, and the $1B+ lithium company still open to the public at $13/share.
When SpaceX finally hit the public markets at a $1.75 trillion valuation, it made history as one of the largest IPOs ever. It also made something else painfully clear: by the time everyday investors could buy a single share, the extraordinary growth was already over.
The investors who turned SpaceX into a generational win weren't buying at the IPO. They got in years earlier — at the private stage — while the company was still building.
Now Wall Street's attention has shifted to the next wave of private giants. Names like Anduril and OpenAI dominate the "next big IPO" conversation. But if those two companies reach public markets, a similar story to SpaceX's $1.75T IPO will likely play out: the company goes public after its biggest growth has already occurred at the private stage.
For most investors, the door will already be closed. Again.
But One $1B+ Private Company Is Still Open — Right Now
There's a private company with a valuation north of $1 billion that's still preparing for its biggest growth opportunities — and unlike SpaceX, Anduril, or OpenAI, it's open to individual investors today.
Meet EnergyX — a lithium technology company backed by General Motors, POSCO, and Eni, with additional support from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The Technology: 3X More Lithium, 500X Faster
Conventional lithium production still relies on giant evaporation ponds that take up to 18 months to yield lithium — and recover as little as 30% of it.
EnergyX's patented GET-Lit™ direct lithium extraction technology flips that equation. In real-world pilots, it can recover 3X more lithium than traditional methods, up to 500X faster — days instead of a year and a half — with a fraction of the land and water footprint.
Behind it sits a portfolio of 120+ patents — and a project footprint spanning nearly 150,000 acres across Chile and the United States, with up to 15M+ tons of untapped lithium.
The Backers: GM, POSCO, Eni — and the U.S. Government
Early-stage companies live and die by validation. EnergyX's cap table reads like a who's-who of the global energy supply chain:
General Motors
Led EnergyX's Series B and holds lithium offtake rights. GM plans to source ~400,000 tons of lithium annually by 2035 for EV production.
POSCO
One of the world's top battery-materials producers, developing a $4B lithium project with rights to partner with EnergyX in its supply chain.
Eni
The ~$100B global energy major is helping EnergyX evaluate lithium projects and apply its DLE technology at refining scale.
U.S. Dept. of Energy
Selected EnergyX for a $5M grant to extract lithium from geothermal brines — supporting its operational Texas demonstration plant.
The Demand Curve Working in Its Favor
Only around 300,000 tons of lithium are produced globally each year. Demand is projected to grow 5X by 2040, driven by EVs, grid-scale storage, AI data centers — and now next-generation nuclear, where EnergyX's new NUKE-it™ platform targets nuclear-grade lithium isotopes.
That's the setup: a supply-constrained critical mineral, a patented technology that extracts more of it faster and cheaper, and strategic partners who need the output.
The Window: Open Until July 16
Here's the part that separates EnergyX from the SpaceX story. Over 50,000 investors have already put in more than $180 million — and the current round is still open to the public.
But not for long. The current opportunity to become an early-stage EnergyX investor ends on July 16.
SpaceX proved what happens when a category-defining private company finally goes public: the biggest rewards go to those who were already inside. Anduril and OpenAI will likely prove it again.
EnergyX is one of the rare $1B+ private companies where the door is still open — but only until July 16.