Elon Musk's SpaceX has soared to a valuation of two trillion US dollars (£1.5 trillion) in a record-breaking stock market debut, making its founder the world's first paper trillionaire.
Record-Breaking IPO
The spaceflight and technology firm floated on the Nasdaq index in New York on Friday, with executives ringing the opening bell. Shares opened at 150 US dollars (£111) per share, an 11% jump from the initial float price, and continued to climb steadily in the minutes after trading began.
This values Musk's stake in the business at approximately 765 billion US dollars (£570 billion). The IPO was softer than some predictions, which had suggested shares could reach 175 US dollars (£130), a 29% increase.
Musk's Reaction
Speaking from Starbase, Texas, Musk called the IPO 'hard to believe,' adding, 'If people had told me this was going to happen, I was like, ‘man, you must be smoking some really good crack, because I think this company is going to fail.’' He pledged to take humanity 'to Mars and ultimately beyond.'
Market Debut Details
SpaceX floated above the initial listing price of 135 dollars (£100.65) per share, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company was originally valued at 1.77 trillion (£1.3 trillion) dollars before trading, making it the largest initial public offering (IPO) ever, surpassing Saudi Aramco's 2019 debut.
SpaceX raised 75 billion US dollars (£56 billion) ahead of the float. The IPO saw an unusually high proportion of shares—20% to 25%—allocated to smaller retail investors, compared to the typical 5% to 10%.
UK Investor Participation
In the UK, 2.7 million shares worth 364 million dollars (£271 million) were pre-allocated to British retail investors. Total demand from UK retail investors reached just under one billion dollars (£740 million), while global demand from smaller investors reportedly exceeded 100 billion dollars (£74.5 billion), leaving many orders unfulfilled.
Nearly two-thirds (61%) of British retail investors received full allocations for shares up to 2,700 dollars (£2,013). Those applying for more saw scaled-back allocations, with a maximum of 1,000 shares each.
Future Plans
The blockbuster equity raise will fund SpaceX's launch of 100,000 next-generation Starlink satellites into orbit, supporting plans to deploy AI data centres in space. Much of the firm's space business centres on its mammoth Starship rocket, designed to be fully reusable and capable of quick turnaround between flights.
The IPO prospectus filed last week noted that the firm's biggest potential market is business-oriented AI products, though uncertainty remains over the path to profitability for its xAI business, which merged with SpaceX earlier this year.
