Musk’s first reaction after record debut sends SpaceX valuation out of space. Just 2 words

After engineering the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk kept his public reaction remarkably brief. Responding to a congratulatory message from Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Musk posted a simple: “Thank you!” 

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The short reply came after Solomon hailed the blockbuster debut of SpaceX, writing, “Congratulations to SpaceX on today’s $75B IPO, the largest ever brought to market.” He added that Goldman Sachs was honoured to have served as the lead left bookrunner and praised the long-standing partnership between the investment bank and the aerospace giant. 

Solomon also reflected on his more than 15-year association with Musk and commended the work of SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell and the broader SpaceX team. “We are excited as SpaceX enters this new chapter of its journey as a public company, and we look forward to supporting their mission of advancing the frontier of human space exploration,” he wrote. 

SpaceX begins trading under ticker SPCX 

SpaceX officially started trading on June 12 under the ticker SPCX, following what is now the biggest IPO ever completed. The company raised $75 billion by selling approximately 555.6 million shares at $135 each, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. 

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Investor enthusiasm pushed the indicated trading price to around $162 per share, valuing the company at roughly $1.77 trillion. That market capitalisation places SpaceX among the most valuable companies in the United States, ahead of Musk’s electric vehicle maker Tesla. 

To mark the landmark listing, Elon Musk and Gwynne Shotwell jointly rang the opening bell, with Musk participating remotely from Texas while Shotwell appeared at the Nasdaq headquarters in New York. 

Why Musk took SpaceX public 

Speaking during a JPMorgan Chase livestream ahead of the IPO, Musk said SpaceX has been cash-flow positive since around 2015 and that the listing would help fund a “significant growth phase” for the company. 

Among the ambitious projects he outlined are plans to deploy more than 100,000 Starlink satellites to expand global communications infrastructure and to develop artificial intelligence data centres in space. 

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Originally founded as a reusable rocket company, SpaceX has evolved into a diversified technology business, with its Starlink satellite internet division emerging as its primary profit engine. The company further expanded its footprint earlier this year by acquiring Musk’s AI startup xAI, bringing under its umbrella Grok AI models, AI infrastructure, and the social media platform X. 

The successful IPO has also propelled Musk’s personal fortune to unprecedented levels. Based on his combined holdings in SpaceX and Tesla, analysts estimate his net worth has crossed the $1 trillion mark, making him the world’s first known trillionaire.