SpaceX Completes Record-Breaking $75 Billion IPO on Nasdaq

SpaceX, the aerospace company founded by Elon Musk, completed its initial public offering (IPO) on Friday, raising $75 billion on Nasdaq. This event marks the largest IPO in history, with 555.6 million shares offered. The achievement surpasses the previous record set by Saudi Aramco, which raised $26 billion in its 2019 offering. Shares of SpaceX began trading under the symbol SPCX.

During a ceremonial bell ringing from Starbase in South Texas, the home of SpaceX, Elon Musk reiterated his ambition to make life multi-planetary. He emphasized goals beyond just astronauts, envisioning future space travel to the moon, Mars, and beyond for a broader public. Ahead of the IPO, Forbes estimated Musk's net worth at $982.6 billion, projecting him to become the world's first trillionaire.

Despite the successful market debut, SpaceX reported significant financial losses, totaling $8.7 billion between the start of 2025 and March 31, 2026. This financial performance, coupled with what some analysts describe as unproven technology and substantial capital needs, led research firm Morningstar to declare the IPO "significantly overvalued." Morningstar estimated the company's worth at $780 billion, which is less than half its IPO value.

Musk's entrepreneurial history includes co-founding Zip2 and PayPal, which together netted him approximately $200 million upon sale. This capital was instrumental in establishing SpaceX and investing in Tesla. Tesla has delivered a 20,000% return for shareholders since its 2010 public listing, generating over $1.2 trillion in investor wealth and contributing to Musk's pre-SpaceX IPO net worth of $795 billion, according to Forbes.

SpaceX is the first of three "megacap" companies expected to go public this year, with Anthropic and OpenAI slated to follow. Nasdaq revised its rules to allow SpaceX's inclusion in index funds within 15 days, potentially leading to earlier investor acquisition of the company's shares. Not all investors, including officials from pension funds, have expressed enthusiasm for SpaceX's potential inclusion in their index fund holdings.

According to Fortune, these developments highlight both the immense investor confidence in Musk's vision and the financial risks associated with the company's ambitious goals.