SpaceX Shares Surge 18% in Largest IPO Ever, Making Elon Musk a Trillionaire

SpaceX went public on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, raising $75 billion by selling 555 million shares at $135. Shares opened at $150 and climbed to approximately $160 in early trading, pushing the company’s market capitalization toward $2 trillion and making Elon Musk the first trillionaire.

How did the SpaceX IPO break records?

The offering is the largest in history, surpassing the 2019 Saudi Aramco IPO, which raised $29.4 billion. SpaceX raised $75 billion from retail and institutional investors, though that total could reach $86 billion if underwriters Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley sell an additional 83 million shares.

Demand for the stock was high. Bloomberg reported that institutional investors oversubscribed the offering four times, with Blackrock seeking up to $5 billion in shares. Retail investors placed more than $100 billion in orders, though their final share of the offering dropped to 20% from an initial 30% estimate.

Did You Know? SpaceX began as a small operation in a warehouse in El Segundo before moving its headquarters to Texas in 2024.

Why is the company’s valuation so high?

At its IPO price, SpaceX was valued at $1.77 trillion, immediately placing it among the 10 largest public companies. This valuation reflects the company’s dominance in space transport; the Falcon 9 rocket accounted for over 80% of the mass sent into space last year.

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Investors are also pricing in the company’s expansion into artificial intelligence. Musk merged xAI into SpaceX this year and plans to build a massive semiconductor plant in Texas to produce AI chips. The company already operates two terrestrial data centers that lease computing power to Google and Anthropic.

Expert Insight: Samantha Carter notes that the tension in this IPO lies between the company’s unprecedented capital access and its governance. While the market is rewarding SpaceX’s AI and space dominance, critics point to a structure that grants Musk 10 times the voting power of common shares, effectively removing constraints on his control of the board.

What happens next for SpaceX’s technology?

The company may use the new capital to accelerate the development of the Starship rocket. NASA currently relies on Starship to return astronauts to the moon, while Musk intends to use the vessel to reach Mars.

Additional funds could be directed toward the Starlink satellite broadband network and a new satellite-based mobile communications service. Musk has also proposed launching solar-powered orbital data centers designed to perform AI computations in space.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ticker symbol for SpaceX?
The company trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX.

How does the SpaceX IPO compare to previous records?
It is the largest IPO on record, raising $75 billion, which significantly exceeds the $29.4 billion raised by Saudi Aramco in 2019.

Does Elon Musk control the company’s board?
Yes. Musk holds special shares with 10 times the voting power of common shares, which puts him in control of the board.

How will the integration of AI and space infrastructure affect the long-term stability of the company’s market cap?