Elon Musk flies to Washington state amid SpaceX IPO preparations

Elon Musk flew from Hawthorne, California, to a private airstrip in Startup, Washington, on Monday, June 15, aboard his Gulfstream G550 N272BG. The 2-hour 3-minute trip covered 470 miles at up to 556 knots.

The flight lands the same week SpaceX is reportedly moving toward an initial public offering, with plans to raise around $75 billion to finance space-based data centers and Mars missions, per the [San Francisco Frontiers](https://www.sanfranciscofrontiers.com/Politics/685593-elon-musk-after-doge-and-politics-bets-on-spacex-ipo.html). Musk's rocket company recently absorbed his AI venture xAI, and the IPO would mark a major milestone for his most valuable private holding.

Musk has been a frequent visitor to the Pacific Northwest in recent days: his fleet logged at least three trips between California and the Seattle area in the past week alone, consistent with meetings at SpaceX's satellite development facility in Redmond. The Hawthorne departure from Jack Northrop Field, adjacent to SpaceX's headquarters, suggests the trip was a direct dash north.