SpaceX Begins Trading on Nasdaq as Elon Musk Eyes Trillionaire Status

Billionaire Elon Musk moved closer than ever to becoming the world's first trillionaire on June 12 as SpaceX officially entered the stock market in what has been described as the largest initial public offering in history. The aerospace company sold 555.6 million shares at $135 each, raising approximately $75 billion and giving the company a valuation of roughly $1.77 trillion. Trading under the ticker symbol SPCX on the Nasdaq, the debut opened SpaceX to public investors for the first time since the company was founded in 2002. The historic listing instantly transformed SpaceX into one of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world and significantly increased Musk's personal fortune. The milestone arrives almost exactly one year after Musk's dramatic public split with President Donald Trump, a feud that became one of the defining stories of his political involvement.

The company's stock market debut was celebrated with a highly choreographed ceremony linking New York and Texas. While senior SpaceX executives gathered at Nasdaq headquarters in Manhattan for the opening bell, Musk addressed employees remotely from SpaceX's headquarters in Texas. Through a live video connection, he virtually initiated the trading day while confetti filled the Nasdaq trading floor and Elton John's «Rocket Man» played throughout the venue. The dual-location ceremony highlighted the importance of the moment not only for SpaceX but for the broader technology and financial sectors. «SpaceX is about taking the fiction out of science fiction,» Musk said during the event. Other company leaders then participated in Nasdaq's opening bell ceremony, marking the beginning of trading for what immediately became one of the most closely watched stocks on Wall Street.

The IPO valued SpaceX at approximately $1.75 trillion, making it the largest public offering ever completed and instantly placing the company among the world's corporate giants. The successful debut reflected investor confidence in a business that has become dominant across multiple sectors, including commercial rocket launches, satellite communications and government space operations. SpaceX currently launches the majority of U.S. orbital missions and operates Starlink, the world's largest satellite internet constellation. The company also plays a major role in NASA's lunar ambitions and remains central to long-term plans for human missions to Mars. For investors, the listing provided the first opportunity to directly participate in a company that has spent more than two decades reshaping the global space industry while remaining privately held.

Musk's ascent toward trillionaire status comes despite a year marked by political turmoil and growing criticism. After spending hundreds of millions of dollars supporting Donald Trump's election effort, Musk joined the administration and became the public face of the Department of Government Efficiency, commonly known as DOGE. His efforts to reduce federal spending and shrink the size of government generated widespread controversy, particularly as thousands of federal jobs were eliminated and agencies faced significant restructuring. Critics accused Musk of operating under major conflicts of interest because SpaceX, Tesla and his other companies receive billions of dollars in federal contracts while remaining subject to government oversight. His increasingly visible political role transformed him from a technology entrepreneur into one of the most divisive figures in American public life.

The alliance between Musk and Trump ultimately collapsed in spectacular fashion. Musk formally left the administration at the end of May 2025 after publicly criticizing Trump's signature spending legislation, describing it as a «massive spending bill» that «undermines the work that the Doge team is doing.» Only days later, the disagreement escalated into a public feud. On X, Musk published what would become one of the most controversial messages of his career, writing: «Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!» Although Musk later deleted the post and softened some of his criticism, the message reached its first anniversary this week, underscoring how rapidly the relationship between the two men unraveled after months of cooperation.

Since leaving government just over a year ago, Musk has largely shifted his attention back toward his business empire, particularly SpaceX and efforts to stabilize Tesla after slowing sales and sustained political backlash. Nevertheless, controversy has continued to follow him. Demonstrations targeting Tesla and Musk emerged long before the SpaceX IPO, fueled by opposition to DOGE-related layoffs, concerns about his influence over public policy and criticism of several right-wing political statements that sparked backlash in both North America and Europe. While maintaining a lower profile than during his time in Washington, Musk has remained highly active on X, where he continues to weigh in on politics, government policy and cultural debates. As SpaceX begins trading on Nasdaq, the company's historic debut marks not only a financial milestone but also the culmination of a turbulent year that reshaped Musk's public image and influence.

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