SpaceX Lists on Nasdaq, Closes Up 19% on First Day; Musk Becomes First Trillionaire

On June 12, 2026, SpaceX officially listed on the Nasdaq under ticker SPCX, setting a record for the largest global IPO. The company issued approximately 555.6 million shares at $135 each, raising $75 billion, with an issuance valuation of $1.77 trillion. The stock quickly rose to $174, up about 28.9% from the IPO price, corresponding to a market cap of approximately $2.28 trillion. Elon Musk became the first person in history with a net worth exceeding $1 trillion due to his holdings.

Listing Details and Market Reaction

SpaceX's IPO broke Wall Street conventions: pricing was set before the roadshow, and 30% of shares were allocated to retail investors, far above the industry norm of 5%-10%. Subscription demand was extremely strong, with total orders exceeding $250 billion, including over $100 billion from retail investors. Institutions like BlackRock placed large orders. Broker Fidelity lowered its subscription threshold from $500,000 to $2,000, and five online brokers including Schwab and Robinhood handled retail allocations. On its first trading day, SpaceX closed at $160.95, up 19.22%. Oppenheimer gave an "Outperform" rating with a $190 price target.

Business and Financial Performance

SpaceX operates three main segments: rocket launches, Starlink satellite internet, and xAI artificial intelligence. According to the prospectus, full-year 2025 revenue was $18.67 billion, up 33% year-over-year, but net loss was $4.9 billion, primarily due to AI infrastructure investments. Q1 capital expenditure reached $10.1 billion, with $7.7 billion for AI. Starlink is the main revenue driver, generating $11.387 billion in connectivity revenue in 2025, covering 164 countries and regions with over 10.3 million subscribers. In launch services, the Falcon 9 is reusable, reducing per-kilogram launch costs to about $2,700. After integrating xAI, the company positions itself as a vertically integrated AI enterprise, though the AI business remains unprofitable.

Ownership Structure and Musk's Wealth

Musk holds approximately 850 million Class A shares and 5.6 billion Class B shares (with 10 votes each), giving him about 85% voting power with 42% equity capital. About 70% of his holdings come from personal investment, with the rest from company grants, some tied to extreme performance conditions (e.g., a Mars colony population of 1 million). At the opening price, Musk's SpaceX stake was worth about $1.2 trillion; combined with his Tesla holdings, his total net worth exceeds $1.2 trillion. However, over 90% of his shares are locked up with a 366-day lock-up period. Morningstar analysts estimate a fair valuation of about $780 billion.

Historical Background and Future Outlook

SpaceX was founded in 2002, starting from an old warehouse in El Segundo, California, with just nine employees. The company experienced multiple launch failures before successfully sending a liquid-fueled rocket into orbit in 2008. In 2016, Musk proposed the plan to "make humans a multi-planetary species," which was widely questioned at the time. Today, the Falcon rocket family has completed about 620 launches with a mission success rate exceeding 99%; Starship is under development, intended for Mars missions. The prospectus ties compensation incentives to a market cap of $7.5 trillion and a Mars population of 1 million. Market views on long-term projects like space-based AI data centers are divided, with some analysts considering the valuation too high.