SpaceX pre-IPO bet goes bust as SPV sells stakes without notice

A retail investor who put $17,250 into a Late Stage Capital SPV to buy SpaceX pre-IPO shares thought he owned about 2,500 shares worth roughly $300,000 when SpaceX peaked in valuation, only to learn in 2024 that the SPV sold his stake for about $45,450 without notifying him. The Wall Street Journal reports about 100 other Late Stage Capital investors faced similar losses. The core issue is SPVs often own only a portion of a larger vehicle and don’t grant direct ownership of SpaceX stock, making distributions and notices depend on the SPV’s discretion. SPVs can be opaque and charge high fees, and industry warnings fromAnthropic/OpenAI highlight the risks for retail investors in private markets.