SpaceX’s Record-Breaking IPO Makes Elon Musk the World’s First Trillionaire

SpaceX’s blockbuster stock market debut earlier this month has continued to reverberate through global markets, cementing Elon Musk’s status as the world’s first trillionaire and reshaping the landscape of the world’s most valuable public companies.

A Historic Debut

SpaceX shares, trading under the ticker “SPCX” on the Nasdaq, opened at $150 — above their $135 IPO price — and surged as high as $176.52 before closing the first day up roughly 19% at $160.95, according to CNN Business. The offering raised approximately $75 billion, making it the largest IPO in history, NPR reported, and valued the rocket and satellite company at more than $2 trillion in early trading.

CNBC reported that shares continued climbing in after-hours trading, pushing the company’s market capitalization to roughly $2.2 trillion and briefly making SpaceX the sixth-largest publicly traded company in the United States, ahead of Musk’s other company, Tesla.

Musk’s Stake and Control

Musk’s roughly 40% ownership stake in SpaceX has been valued at around $800 billion in the wake of the listing, NPR reported, a figure that — combined with his Tesla holdings and other assets — pushed his total net worth past the trillion-dollar threshold for the first time for any individual. Notably, Musk retains more than 80% of SpaceX’s voting power, according to NPR, meaning public shareholders will have limited influence over how the company is run despite the broad-based retail demand for shares.

Why Investors Bought In

According to CNBC, Musk said on a livestream ahead of the offering that SpaceX has been cash-flow positive since around 2015 and that the IPO was intended to fund a major growth phase, including plans to deploy over 100,000 satellites and build AI data centers in space. The company’s only currently profitable division is its Starlink satellite internet business, which CNBC noted generated the majority of SpaceX’s $18.67 billion in revenue last year.

Despite the bullish reception, NPR reported that SpaceX’s financial filings show the company lost roughly $5 billion last year and another $4 billion in the first quarter of 2026, with much of that loss tied to the AI division absorbed from Musk’s former company, xAI, which SpaceX acquired in early 2026.

A Hidden Winner: Alphabet

Among the lesser-discussed beneficiaries of the listing is Alphabet, which CNBC reported owns roughly 4.9% of SpaceX — a stake now worth an estimated $105 billion, making it one of Google’s most lucrative private investments ever.

What Comes Next

CNN Business noted that SpaceX’s amended IPO filing flagged the possibility of issuing “significant equity” to fund future transactions, fueling market speculation about a potential future tie-up with Tesla, in which SpaceX already holds a stake stemming from Tesla’s earlier $2 billion investment in xAI.