Mitchell Lawler

The most anticipated IPO in history will hit the market next week. When Elon Musk is involved, opinions tend to be firmly on one side or the other. In the case of the IPO S-1 filing, mention of colonizing Mars and mining asteroids only adds to the division. Today we are avoiding the spectacle and having a look at what the business is really about: the opportunities, the challenges and what the listing could mean for investors.

Imagine a world where you could borrow money at an interest rate between 0% to 1%, and invest that in a treasury note (i.e. ‚Äúrisk-free‚ÄĚ) returning 3% to 4%. Would you do it? The answer‚Ķ probably yes. And believe it or not, that‚Äôs how the world functioned for many years. Japan‚Äôs interest rate was far below that of the US, Canada, the UK, and many other countries for decades, and governments, institutions, and individuals all over the world made the most of it.