SpaceX debuts on Nasdaq in historic listing, propelling Musk to trillionaire status
Shares open at $150, a 6.6 per cent rise from the initial offering price, as sovereign wealth funds and long-only investors dominate allocations amid protests over xAI’s Grok platform.
SpaceX has commenced trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange, cementing its position as one of the world’s most valuable corporations and establishing CEO Elon Musk as the first trillionaire. The company’s initial public offering, priced at $135 per share, raised approximately $75 billion, with shares opening at $150 on Friday, 12 June 2026. This 6.6 per cent increase from the offer price valued the aerospace firm at roughly $1.96 trillion, placing it on track to become the sixth-largest company in the United States.
The offering was significantly oversubscribed, with demand exceeding supply by a factor of four. Institutional allocations were heavily skewed toward long-only investment strategies and sovereign wealth funds, particularly from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. According to market analysts, approximately 70 per cent of institutional shares were directed to these categories, reflecting strong appetite from large-scale capital providers despite the company’s recent financial losses.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen rang the opening bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City at 9:30 am local time. Trading was delayed until mid-day as the exchange managed the high volume of buy and sell orders, ensuring supply and demand were balanced before shares began active trading. The delay was intended to prevent the technical mishaps that plagued Meta’s debut in 2012.
The financial milestone occurred against a backdrop of controversy and operational activity. Protesters gathered outside the Nasdaq MarketSite to demonstrate against allegations that Grok, a platform developed by xAI—a subsidiary of SpaceX—allowed the creation of non-consensual deepfake images. Simultaneously, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 29 satellites from Cape Canaveral, Florida, underscoring the company’s ongoing operational scale.
Financial disclosures reveal a business model prioritising growth over immediate profitability. For 2025, SpaceX reported revenue of $18.67 billion, driven largely by its Starlink satellite internet service, which contributed more than $11 billion. However, the company recorded a net loss exceeding $4.9 billion, alongside capital expenditures of $20.7 billion. Samuel Kerr of Mergermarket noted that the hype surrounding the deal could drive an immediate trading pop of north of 20 per cent, with market participants viewing the listing as a precursor to future major offerings from AI firms such as Anthropic and OpenAI.
