SpaceX went public on June 11, 2026, at $135 per share, raising $75 billion. That made it the largest IPO — initial public offering, when a private company sells shares to the public for the first time — in history, per Reuters. The company's value at that price: $1.77 trillion. Trading started on June 12, 2026 on the Nasdaq, per the company's filing.

On the first day, the stock soared. It hit $176.52 at its peak and closed at $160.95 — a gain of 19.2% from the starting price, per Yahoo Finance. That jump tells you demand was hot, but it also means people who bought on day one paid more than those who got shares in the original IPO.

Who Wanted These Shares — and Who Got Them

Demand far outpaced supply. The order book received roughly four times as many requests as shares available, Reuters reported. That kind of appetite let the underwriters (the banks running the sale) price the stock high without worry.

SpaceX did something unusual: it saved 30% of the IPO shares for regular investors like you, rather than giving most of them to big institutions. Normally, regular investors get 10–20% of an IPO. SpaceX wanted a broader group of owners, partly because millions of people use Starlink for internet.

Elon Musk kept 82% of the company for himself and his inner circle. That means only 18% of SpaceX's shares are now in public hands. At the stock's closing price on day one, this made Musk the world's first trillionaire — his SpaceX stake plus his other holdings crossed that number. The key takeaway: when so few shares trade publicly, big price jumps and dips happen more easily. It's like trying to move a car with a thin steering wheel — even small turns send you hard in one direction.

What SpaceX Says It's Banking On

In its IPO pitch documents, SpaceX highlighted three growth bets: Starlink (satellite internet), AI, and space-based data centers, per Reuters. The company is not selling itself purely as a rocket launch business. It wants investors to see Starlink as a subscription service that brings in steady money each month, plus potential future revenue from AI tools and computing power in orbit. The sale happened in the U.S., Europe, and Australia at the same time, per the EU regulatory filing.

Here's the catch: a $1.77 trillion price tag is enormous. To justify that number, SpaceX's profits would need to grow significantly. The first day buyers at $160.95 paid even more. Whether the company's actual earnings will grow into this valuation is the question nobody can answer yet — and it will take years to find out.

One more thing to watch: Musk and other early holders still own most of the shares. When they are eventually allowed to sell, a flood of new shares could hit the market. Since only a small amount of SpaceX stock trades publicly now, that moment could shake prices in ways that big, widely-held companies do not experience.

By raw numbers — a record fundraise, huge demand, a big retail slice, and a 19% day-one pop — SpaceX nailed the IPO execution. Whether the stock price proves reasonable is a separate, longer question. Time will tell.