SpaceX’s record IPO sends shares up 23% at debut, pushing Elon Musk to a first-place trillionaire ranking

SpaceX began trading this week in what market coverage described as the biggest IPO ever, with the company’s newly listed shares jumping strongly on the first day of trading. Shares of SpaceX, traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, were up about 23% in midday trading Friday, after the offering priced at $135 per share and opened at $150.

According to the report, trading was near $167 during the midday session. That move implied a sharp premium over the IPO price set Thursday, reflecting investor demand for the private space company that has built a global reputation around reusable rockets and an expanding launch cadence.

The listing drew attention not only for its size, but for the personal financial impact on Elon Musk, who leads SpaceX. The report said Musk became the world’s first trillionaire as the value associated with his holdings rose with the stock’s early surge.

The IPO was described as a record $75 billion debut. If accurate, the figure would place the offering in a rare category, both in terms of capital raised and the level of attention it has drawn from public markets. For investors, the move effectively turns a business long valued privately into a publicly tracked operating company with a market-determined valuation.

A large IPO can also shift expectations quickly, because the public market starts asking for answers that private investors may have tolerated to remain opaque. Even when companies do not immediately provide full disclosures, day-one trading tends to spotlight questions such as how quickly revenue can scale, the durability of government and commercial contracts, and whether margins can expand as launch volume grows.

SpaceX’s debut arrives in a sector where investors often weigh long-term technology risk against near-term cash generation. For rocket companies, key business drivers tend to include launch reliability, the production pipeline for engines and vehicles, and the timetable for new systems. Public-market shareholders generally look for evidence of repeatability and cost discipline, especially when the narrative centers on reuse and throughput.

Still, the coverage did not provide detailed figures beyond the trading and pricing benchmarks. It did not outline the final number of shares sold, the proportion of existing vs. newly issued stock, or any early forecasts from the company. It also did not specify whether first-day momentum would hold as analysts digest the prospectus and the first set of public-company reporting obligations.

For now, the most immediate thing to watch is whether early strength persists as liquidity grows and more market participants price in longer-term expectations. The IPO also sets a high bar for subsequent updates, because with a record-sized debut, even small changes in sentiment can translate into large valuation swings in the early weeks. Investors and observers will likely focus on any follow-on announcements and the first substantial public disclosures tied to the listing.