SpaceX made its long-awaited stock market debut on Friday on the Nasdaq, and the numbers were staggering. Shares opened at $150—above the initial IPO price of $135—and surged as high as 30% midday before closing up 19%, according to TechCrunch. The listing vaulted SpaceX into the top six most valuable U.S. companies.
The biggest consequence: Elon Musk is now officially the world's first trillionaire. According to CNBC, Musk's stake in SpaceX alone is worth more than $766 billion, and combined with his Tesla holdings, his net worth as of Friday sits at roughly $1.05 trillion. The Verge noted his wealth was hovering around $800 billion before the IPO, and that he holds approximately 4.8 billion SpaceX shares. As The Verge put it, a trillion dollars is "a thousand times more than a billion"—a scale that is difficult to fathom.
The debut was so anticipated it overwhelmed retail trading platforms. According to TechCrunch, Robinhood saw "record-breaking" traffic after SpaceX stock began trading. Engadget reported that some Robinhood users encountered technical issues trying to buy in.
The IPO also stirred political controversy. According to CNBC, the husband of Republican Rep. Lisa McClain purchased up to $250,000 in Musk's xAI before it was folded into SpaceX ahead of the listing—positioning the family to benefit directly from the debut.
Looking ahead, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell hinted at a possible merger with Tesla, saying a tie-up "might make Elon's life a little easier," according to CNBC. Investor enthusiasm ran high: according to CNBC, Sequoia's Maguire likened SpaceX to Nvidia three years ago and said he planned to hold his shares "forever."
This IPO isn't just a financial milestone—it concentrates an unprecedented level of wealth and influence in a single individual at the exact moment his companies are reshaping space travel, artificial intelligence, and transportation.