The transaction was part of Musk’s year-end tax planning. The recipients “have no current intention to sell” the shares, the Securities and Exchange Commission filing said.

SpaceX is among the most notable and renowned private companies in the world. Indeed, most Americans have heard of the Elon Musk-led company, which has secured a number of very lucrative government contracts over the years in part due to the company's ability to successfully launch (and land) rockets in a reliable way.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Thuraya 4 satellite on Friday to a geostationary transfer orbit on behalf of Yahsat, a telecommunications company and satellite service provider based in the United Arab Emirates.

After stage separation, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fist-stage booster landed on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.