SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell rang the Nasdaq opening bell on Friday, just hours before the rocket company's shares began trading on the exchange. CEO Elon Musk participated virtually from Texas, while Shotwell was joined by CFO Brett Johnsen and other employees at the Nasdaq building in New York.
IPO Details and Valuation
SpaceX raised $75 billion by selling approximately 556 million shares at $135 each, giving the company a valuation of $1.77 trillion. Musk, who owns a majority stake and controls voting rights, became the world's first trillionaire, with most of his wealth coming from his SpaceX holdings. The IPO saw blockbuster demand, propelling SpaceX into an elite club of companies valued at over a trillion dollars.
Trading and Index Inclusion
Shares will trade under the ticker SPCX, allowing individual investors to buy and sell freely. SpaceX is expected to join the Nasdaq 100 index after the exchange revised its rules in March to expedite entry for mega-cap listings. This inclusion will automatically add SpaceX to many passive index funds, indirectly including it in numerous individual portfolios.
The IPO has also created many millionaires among current and former employees. A larger-than-usual portion of shares was allocated to retail investors, many of whom are dedicated fans of Musk.
Pricing Strategy and Investor Demand
Defying conventional practice, Musk set the IPO price at $135 per share without a price range, adopting a take-it-or-leave-it approach. Despite this, demand was massive, with the offering oversubscribed four times. Bids came from individual investors, asset managers, and high-net-worth individuals. According to a Wall Street Journal report, BlackRock placed a $5 billion order for SpaceX shares.
Company Ambitions and AI Integration
SpaceX, founded in 2002, describes itself as the only company building integrated hardware and software infrastructure for space, connectivity, and AI. Its ambitions include creating a multiplanetary civilization and establishing data centers in space. The AI unit xAI, founded in 2023, was acquired by SpaceX in early 2026. The company is rapidly expanding its compute infrastructure, boasting one of the largest compute clusters, named Colossus and Colossus II.
SpaceX also plans a Terafab facility, a chip manufacturing initiative with Tesla and Intel, to further vertical integration into chip design and manufacturing.
Market Context and Future Listings
The SpaceX debut comes at a pivotal moment for AI, as the technology drives stock markets to record highs. The listing will test investor appetite for upcoming major AI IPOs, including Anthropic and OpenAI, which are slated to go public later this year.
