Elon Musk’s SpaceX has raised over $337 million in equity financing, according to a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission by the aerospace manufacturer on Wednesday.

As per the filing by the company, which is headquartered in Hawthorne, California, it raised approximately $337.4 million in financing.

SpaceX crossed $100 billion in valuation following a secondary share sale by existing investors in October, according to CNBC. The company, which counts Alphabet Inc and Fidelity Investments among its investors, had raised about $1.16 billion in equity financing in April.

Meanwhile, its founder Musk is the world’s richest person with an estimated net worth of $278.4 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaire’s list, placing him ahead of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos who is at second place with a net worth of $195.9 billion.

Earlier this month, the billionaire, who was named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2021, announced that Space X is working on a program to take carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the atmosphere and convert it into rocket fuel, claiming that it will be important for his future missions to Mars.

The businessman announced the news on Twitter and invited people to participate in the program, writing: “SpaceX is starting a program to take CO2 out of atmosphere & turn it into rocket fuel. Please join if interested.”

“Will also be important for Mars,” he added.

Musk did not provide further details regarding the new sustainable fuel program but as per the company’s website, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket uses rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) propellant as fuel.

The kerosene used in the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket emits carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon soot, and a small number of sulfur compounds, among other chemicals, into the atmosphere.

According to Champion Traveler, the Falcon 9 burns 29,600 gallons (112,184 kilograms) of highly refined kerosene, while 3.0 kilograms of CO2 goes into the atmosphere per kilogram of kerosene burned, meaning that roughly 336,552 kilograms of CO2 is added into the atmosphere per Falcon 9 launch.

Space X did not respond to comment.

Musk plans to send the first unmanned flight to Mars in 2024, slightly later than previously anticipated, after which he expects to land humans on Mars in 2026, as part of his plan to eventually colonize the planet.

NASA has contracted with SpaceX to use Starship for delivering astronauts to the lunar surface within the next few years.

“The goal overall has been to make life multi-planetary and enable humanity to become a spacefaring civilization,” Musk told Time Magazine. 

“And the next really big thing is to build a self-sustaining city on Mars and bring the animals and creatures of Earth there. Sort of like a futuristic Noah’s ark. We’ll bring more than two, though—it’s a little weird if there’s only two,” Musk said.

Musk, who also founded transport tunnel maker Boring Company and brain-chip startup Neuralink, sold about $1.02 billion worth of his holdings in electric vehicle maker Tesla this week, while simultaneously buying millions of shares via options. 

By Katabella Roberts

Katabella Roberts is a reporter currently based in Turkey. She covers news and business for The Epoch Times, focusing primarily on the United States.