{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Stewart Squared","title":"Episode #92: The $1.75 Trillion Bet: What WeWork Taught Us About the SpaceX IPO","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1489,"description":"On this episode of the Stewart Squared podcast, host Stewart Alsop speaks with his father Stewart Alsop II about the SpaceX IPO and whether such a massive public offering could actually fail. Stewart Alsop II published his analysis just fifteen minutes before recording at sallsop.substack.com, questioning the logic behind the $1.75 trillion valuation and $75 billion raise, especially given that the company loses nearly $5 billion annually. The conversation ranges from the mechanics of IPOs and the SEC approval process to the only recent failed IPO (WeWork), SPACs versus traditional public offerings, the iron triangle of regulators and business interests, and comparisons between political figures' investment track records. Stewart Alsop II draws on his experience living through decades of Bay Area politics and business while analyzing whether institutions will actually buy into what he describes as a bet on Elon Musk rather than traditional fundamentals.Timestamps00:00 Stewart introduces the episode topic returning to SpaceX IPO discussion and what he learned writing his article about IPO failures05:00 Discussion of how IPO conspiracy works between SEC regulators bankers and entrepreneurs creating iron triangle relationships that rarely result in failures10:00 WeWork becomes example of rare IPO failure when institutions refused to buy shares despite SEC approval and banker support15:00 Examination of Trump's public transparency about money-making versus traditional banana republic secrecy and oligarch networks20:00 Debate over World Liberty Financial investments and whether Trump family portfolio signals SpaceX IPO success potential25:00 Heated disagreement about Nancy Pelosi's husband's stock trading and conspiracy theories before ending the episodeKey Insights1. An IPO can fail after the S-1 filing is published, though it has only happened once in recent memory with WeWork. When Adam Neumann pushed bankers to file WeWork's S-1, institutional investors reviewed...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/QlC48R1fevmul8S_Y7L1P2WUMnEKqwNUR7TBsNqFHaE/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS84NDMx/NWQ0MWQ1Y2NkNjhk/ZDI1NWE0MTUyN2Q5/Zjg0NS53ZWJw.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}