Buying shares in Space Exploration Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:SPCX) may give investors a chance to own a piece of Elon Musk‘s vision for Mars. What it may not give them is much say in how the company is run.

Buried within SpaceX’s sprawling S-1 filing is one of the most management-friendly governance structures to hit public markets in years—one that effectively asks investors to provide capital while leaving control firmly in Musk’s hands.

Musk’s Voting Power Stays Intact

Like Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) before it, SpaceX will debut with a dual-class share structure.

Public investors will receive Class A shares carrying one vote per share. Musk’s Class B shares will carry 10 votes per share. More importantly, Class B shareholders will retain the right to elect a majority of SpaceX’s board of directors regardless of the outcome of broader shareholder voting.

The filing explicitly notes that Musk will serve as CEO, Chief Technical Officer and Chairman, while the dual-class structure concentrates voting control with Musk and other Class B holders, limiting the ability of Class ...