SpaceX Launches Largest IPO in History at $135 a Share

SpaceX has officially confirmed the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history. Elon Musk’s space and artificial intelligence conglomerate announced that it has raised $75 billion. The shares were priced at $135 each, and the company is set to begin marketing on the Nasdaq stock exchange. This massive IPO easily eclipses the previous record, which was set when Saudi Aramco raised $24.9 billion in 2019. Furthermore, this historic deal will officially make Musk the world’s first trillionaire. The company, which will trade under the ticker symbol SPCX, took an unusual approach. The price was established well in advance after SpaceX tested its $135 target with investors. This strategy bypassed traditional IPO pricing practices, and it clearly worked. Reports indicate that the offering attracted four times the available shares. If the sale is as oversubscribed as bankers claim, an additional 83.3 million shares could be brought to market. This would raise another $11 billion for the 24-year-old technology company. While the share price may fluctuate once active trading begins, expectations are extremely high. A crypto betting market currently prices the shares at $167, suggesting a classic opening-day pop. However, there are questions about how SpaceX will justify this eye-popping valuation in the long term. The company's daunting to-do list includes building the world's largest reusable rocket and developing a new American chip factory. Naturally, the biggest beneficiary is Musk himself. He holds just under 850 million Class A shares and 5.6 billion Class B shares. His holdings even include a billion shares that are contingent on establishing a Mars colony. Other major shareholders are also poised to gain massive windfalls. Antonio Gracias owns shares valued at nearly $68 billion, while investors like Luke Nosek and Gwynne Shotwell hold significant stakes. If smaller investors had not backed the company through special purpose vehicles, they would have missed out on multiplying their initial capital.