Elon Musk has become the world’s first trillionaire after shares in SpaceX surged on their debut trading day following what is reported as the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history.
The SpaceX IPO raised over $75 billion, with more than 555 million shares priced at $135 each, valuing the company at about $1.8 trillion before trading began. On its first day on the Nasdaq exchange in New York, shares climbed 11 per cent to $150, pushing its market value to around $2 trillion.
The development places SpaceX among the top 10 most valuable companies in the United States, ahead of firms including Meta and Walmart. The offering was reportedly more than four times oversubscribed, with strong demand from both institutional and retail investors.
SpaceX, founded by Musk in 2002, has expanded from a rocket manufacturer into a satellite internet operator through Starlink and has also integrated Musk’s artificial intelligence venture xAI, which includes the Grok chatbot and the X social media platform.
Musk said the company’s long-term ambition is to expand human activity beyond Earth. “SpaceX wants to be able to take you to the moon, take you to Mars, and ultimately beyond,” he said at a launch event in Starbase, Texas, during the IPO celebrations.
The filing also highlighted aggressive future projections, including ambitions tied to space-based data infrastructure and Mars exploration, alongside rapid expansion of satellite internet services.
However, analysts have raised concerns about the company’s financial position. While SpaceX reported revenue of $18.7 billion in 2025, it also recorded a net loss of $4.9 billion, driven largely by heavy investment in artificial intelligence and infrastructure expansion.
The IPO is expected to trigger further listings from major artificial intelligence firms, with companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic reportedly preparing for public market debuts.
The listing marks a significant milestone for Musk, whose wealth is now described as exceeding any previous billionaire record, driven by investor confidence in SpaceX’s long-term technological ambitions.
