SpaceX recently completed the largest public listing in history. Many business owners assume that going public means giving up control. Elon Musk's share structure shows this is not always true, as long as the shares are planned properly from the start.

SpaceX created three types of shares, each serving a different purpose. Class A shares carry one vote each and are the shares sold to the public, raising over 75 billion US dollars at 135 US dollars per share. Class B shares carry ten votes each, and Elon Musk holds about 5.6 billion of these shares. Class C shares carry no voting rights at all. These are given to employees as part of their pay package, allowing staff to share in the company's growth without affecting who controls the business.

Because each Class B share carries ten votes, Elon Musk's voting power barely moved after the listing. Before the IPO, he controlled about 85.1 percent of all voting power. After the IPO, this only dropped to about 84.4 percent. Even though the company brought in tens of billions of dollars from new public investors, Elon Musk gave up less than one percent of his control. Raising new money simply did not dilute his grip on the company.

This control also extends to the board. Company rules state that Class B shareholders alone elect the majority of directors, meaning Elon Musk decides who runs the company, regardless of how much money public investors put in. He also holds two large share grants tied to strict company targets, and these shares carry full voting rights from day one, even before the targets are met. In this way, the incentive plan strengthens his control just as much as his potential payout.

This case is shared for reference purposes only. To apply a similar approach in a Malaysian business, different considerations would need to be looked at, including how the structure is set up, the company's plans for fundraising or listing, and what the Companies Act and Bursa Malaysia allows for.