SpaceX begins Nasdaq trading after high-profile IPO
SpaceX shares began trading at $135 as public investors got their first chance to buy into Elon Musk’s combined space, AI and social media company.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
SpaceX began trading on Nasdaq on Friday, giving public investors their first chance to buy shares in Elon Musk’s combined rocket, AI and social media company, The Verge reported. The listing could make Musk the first trillionaire on paper, The Verge reported, with much of the company’s pitch tied to plans for AI data centers in space.
The shares started trading June 12 at $135, according to The Verge, which reported that many retail investors were likely to pay more than that price. The company had filed to list under the ticker SPCX, The Verge reported, in what it said could become the largest initial public offering ever.
The offering followed SpaceX’s formal S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in May, according to The Verge. The filing opened a fuller view of a company long known for launches and Starlink, while also showing how Musk’s other ventures now overlap with SpaceX.
Financials and valuation
SpaceX reported $18.67 billion in 2025 revenue, driven largely by Starlink, which accounted for more than $11 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported, according to The Verge. The New York Times reported, as cited by The Verge, that SpaceX lost more than $4.9 billion last year and that capital spending rose to $20.7 billion from $11.2 billion in 2024.
TechCrunch reported, according to The Verge, that xAI lost billions of dollars last year while increasing revenue by 22 percent. The Verge reported that xAI had recently merged with SpaceX and X, adding AI and social media operations to the public-company story investors are now being asked to price.
The Verge also reported that SpaceX’s IPO materials included a total addressable market estimate of $28.5 trillion. By comparison, The Verge cited the St. Louis Fed for U.S. gross domestic product of a little over $24 trillion.
AI satellites and defense contracts
SpaceX showed an early version of its AI1 data center satellite this week, The Verge reported. Musk said at the reveal that the design was a draft of the first SpaceX AI satellite and that it was simpler than a Starlink satellite, according to The Verge, which cited SpaceX’s post on X.
The company’s government work also remains part of the story. The Verge, citing Bloomberg, reported that the Pentagon awarded SpaceX a $4.16 billion contract to build missile-tracking satellites connected to President Donald Trump’s planned Golden Dome defense system.
The U.S. Space Force said the sensor-equipped satellites are intended to detect and track targets from space, according to The Verge. Reuters also reported, as cited by The Verge, that SpaceX won a $2.29 billion contract to develop a military space data network.
Musk remains central to the risk
The Verge reported that SpaceX’s 330-page filing shows repeated references to other Musk companies and products, including 356 mentions of xAI, 267 of X, 243 of Grok and 87 of Tesla. The filing also mentions the Boring Company, Neuralink and Optimus, according to The Verge.
The Verge separately reported that Musk drew attention on the eve of the IPO for posts about unrest in Belfast, Northern Ireland, including support for Restore Britain and sharing protest locations. Those reports added to scrutiny of Musk’s role as SpaceX’s public-market debut began.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.