You opened your brokerage app on June 12 and the number was real. Not a 409A estimate. Not a secondary market approximation. A real, public-market number with a ticker next to it — SPCX — and it was a lot bigger than you expected.
Maybe you've been at SpaceX for three years. Maybe eight. Maybe you left two years ago and held onto your vested shares. Either way, the IPO just turned years of accumulated equity into something that feels like life-changing money.
And the first instinct is to do something. Pay off the house. Upgrade everything. Text your buddy about that investment idea he pitched you at a barbecue last summer.
Don't. Not yet.
The next 90 days are the most consequential financial planning window you'll ever have. Not because you need to act fast — but because the decisions you make (or don't make) before the first lockup window opens will shape your financial life for years. Here's how to spend that time.
The 90-Day Framework
Days 1–30 Get Clear Inventory what you hold. Understand the lockup. Resist every urge to act. | Days 31–60 Build the Plan Model tax scenarios. Assemble your team. Set diversification targets. | Days 61–90 Position to Execute Finalize strategy before the first lockup window opens. No scrambling. |
Days 1–30: Get Clear
The first month isn't about making moves. It's about getting visibility into what you actually have — because most SpaceX employees don't have a complete picture of their equity situation, even now.
Build Your Equity Inventory
Pull your equity statements and fill in every column. If you can't complete this table from memory, that's the point — you need to look it up before you can plan around it.
| Grant | Type | Total Shares | Vested | Cost Basis / Strike | Est. Value at $161* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant 1 | RSU / ISO / NSO | — | — | — | — |
| Grant 2 | RSU / ISO / NSO | — | — | — | — |
| Grant 3 | RSU / ISO / NSO | — | — | — | — |
| ESPP | ESPP | — | — | — | — |
*Based on SPCX first-day closing price. Current value will vary. If you hold multiple equity types, each one has different tax treatment — here's how ISOs and NSOs differ.
Understand the Lockup
You probably can't sell yet. SpaceX's lockup isn't a single 180-day wall — it's a staggered schedule with the first window opening after Q2 2026 earnings (expected mid-July through September). Knowing when you can sell is step one. Knowing whether you should at each window is everything that follows.
We broke down the full schedule — every window, every percentage, every approximate date — in our SpaceX Financial Planning guide.
Resist the Urge to Act
This is the hardest part. The money feels real now, and every impulse says to do something with it. Pay off the mortgage. Put a deposit on that house. Commit to that renovation. Tell your manager you're quitting.
Here's the thing: the number in your brokerage account is not the number in your bank account. Between lockup restrictions, taxes you haven't paid yet, and shares that haven't vested, the amount you can actually access — and keep — may be significantly less than what the screen says.
⚠ Common first-month mistakes
| Making large financial commitments | You can't spend locked shares. Committing to a new home, car, or renovation based on paper wealth before understanding your actual after-tax liquidity is how people get overextended. |
| Quitting your job immediately | Unvested shares don't come with you. If you leave before your RSUs fully vest, you walk away from equity that may be worth far more than a few months of salary. |
| Taking investment advice from friends | Everyone around you will suddenly have opinions about what to do with your money. Very few of them understand the tax implications of your specific equity mix. |
| Assuming the stock only goes up | SPCX had a great first day. That doesn't tell you what happens over the next six months. Planning as if the current price is the floor is how concentration risk turns into real losses. |
Days 31–60: Build the Plan
Now that you know what you hold and when you can sell, it's time to build the actual plan. This is where the real work happens.
Model Your Tax Scenarios
The question isn't "how much will I owe in taxes?" It's "how much will I owe in taxes under each scenario?" Because the answer changes dramatically depending on when you sell, how much you sell, and what type of equity you're selling.
| Scenario | What Happens | Tax Consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Sell 20% at Window 1 | Take partial liquidity early after Q2 earnings | Income stacks on your existing 2026 salary. May push into higher federal and CA brackets. |
| Sell across multiple windows | Spread sales from August through December | All still lands in tax year 2026. Spreading doesn't help unless you can push some into 2027. |
| Hold through day 180 | Wait for full unlock in mid-December | No tax event until you sell — but concentration risk stays high. Stock price risk for 6 months. |
| Exercise ISOs this year | Convert options to shares before selling | Spread at exercise is an AMT preference item. Could trigger significant AMT liability even without selling. 2026 AMT changes make this worse. |
| Hold some shares 12+ months | Aim for long-term capital gains treatment | Federal LTCG rate is lower — but California still taxes gains as ordinary income. Only helps at the federal level. |
These are simplified illustrations, not projections. Your actual tax outcome depends on total income, filing status, equity types held, and other factors. Work with a tax professional to model your specific situation.
The point of this exercise isn't to find the "perfect" answer. It's to see the range of outcomes so you're making informed decisions, not guesses. This is tax planning, not tax prep — and the difference matters.
Assemble Your Team
This isn't a solo project. The intersection of equity compensation, California taxes, concentration risk, and estate planning is complex enough that no single professional covers all of it. You need a team.
| Role | What They Handle | When to Engage |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Advisor | Investment strategy, diversification plan, cash flow projections, behavioral coaching | Now — before any lockup window opens |
| CPA / Tax Professional | Tax scenario modeling, estimated payments, AMT analysis, state tax strategy | Now — 2026 has significant tax changes |
| Estate Planning Attorney | Trust structures, gifting strategies, beneficiary updates, legacy planning | Within 60 days — before values climb further |
Not sure what to look for in an advisor? Here are the questions most people don't ask but should.
Set Your Concentration Target
Here's a question most newly wealthy SpaceX employees haven't thought about: what percentage of your net worth do you want in a single stock six months from now?
Right now, for many employees, SPCX is 50%, 70%, maybe 90%+ of everything. Most financial planners consider anything above 10% in a single position a concentration risk. You don't need to get to 10% overnight, but you do need a target and a timeline.
Concentration builds wealth. Diversification protects it. If SPCX dropped 20% and your net worth fell by 15% — that's a concentration problem, not a market problem. Here's a framework for de-risking a single-stock position over 24 months.
Days 61–90: Position to Execute
The first lockup window opens after Q2 earnings — potentially as early as mid-July. By day 60, you should have your equity inventory, your tax projections, and your team in place. The final 30 days are about making sure the plan is ready to execute when the window opens.
Finalize your lockup-by-lockup strategy.
For each window: how much do you plan to sell? Which equity type? What's the estimated tax impact? What does your concentration look like after? Write it down. Having the plan on paper before the window opens means you execute from logic, not emotion.
Prepare for estimated tax payments.
If you sell shares in Q3 or Q4 of 2026, you may owe estimated taxes. California's Franchise Tax Board doesn't wait until April. Talk to your CPA about safe harbor estimates and quarterly payment timing so you're not hit with penalties on top of the tax bill. More on managing California tax exposure.
Update your estate plan.
If your net worth just changed by a factor of five or ten, your existing beneficiary designations, trust structures, and gifting strategies may no longer fit. Before shares start moving, make sure your estate plan reflects your new reality.
Consider charitable giving timing.
If philanthropy is part of your plan, donating appreciated SPCX shares directly to a donor-advised fund before selling can be significantly more tax-efficient than selling and donating cash. This needs to be coordinated with your lockup schedule, not done as an afterthought. More tax-smart strategies for high earners.
Paper Wealth vs. Spendable Wealth
This is the part nobody talks about at the IPO party. The number on the screen and the money you can actually use are not the same number. They're not even close.
| What Reduces Your Number | Example Impact |
|---|---|
| Shares still locked (can't sell yet) | Up to 80% in early windows |
| Shares not yet vested (you may lose them if you leave) | Depends on your vesting schedule |
| Federal + state taxes owed on sale | 40–50%+ for California high earners |
| AMT liability from ISO exercises | Can be significant on early grants |
| Stock price movement between now and when you sell | Unknown — could be up or down |
The gap between paper wealth and spendable wealth is where bad decisions get made. Someone sees "$2 million" and mentally spends $2 million. After lockups, taxes, unvested shares, and price movement, the actual number they can deploy might be closer to $800K.
That's still life-changing money. But planning around $800K and planning around $2M are two completely different things.
The Real Risk Isn't Financial — It's Behavioral
I've seen it happen enough times to name the pattern. A liquidity event creates a window where people make decisions based on how they feel — euphoric, invincible, impatient — rather than what the numbers actually say.
The employees who navigate this well aren't the ones who pick the perfect day to sell. They're the ones who built a plan during the quiet period, stuck to it when the windows opened, and didn't let the noise — from coworkers, from the market, from their own excitement — override the math.
That's what the 90-day framework is for. Not to slow you down for the sake of it — but to make sure the first financial decisions you make with this money are the ones you'd still be proud of five years from now.
Plan the next 180 days, not just the next 24 hours.
Financial Planning for SpaceX Employees →This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice. All references to tax treatment, equity compensation mechanics, and lockup schedules are general in nature and may not reflect your specific situation. Consult with a qualified tax professional and financial advisor before making financial decisions.