Musk becomes first trillionaire after SpaceX IPO soars

Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire on June 12 after SpaceX’s shares surged on their first day of trading on the Nasdaq. The company’s shares opened at $150, 11% above the IPO price of $135, peaking at $168 before closing just below $161. This valuation gave SpaceX a market capitalization of approximately $2.1 trillion, making it the sixth-largest publicly traded U.S. company and surpassing Tesla, which Musk also leads. The IPO raised $75 billion, the largest in Wall Street history, with investor demand exceeding $250 billion in orders. Retail investors alone submitted over $70 billion in share requests. Musk marked the occasion at SpaceX’s Starbase headquarters in South Texas, emphasizing the company’s mission to expand human presence to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. SpaceX, founded in 2002, operates in rocket manufacturing, Starlink satellite internet, orbital data centers, and AI through its xAI unit. However, the company reported a net loss of $4.94 billion in 2025, driven by heavy AI-related spending. Combined losses for SpaceX and xAI reached $8.7 billion over 15 months ending March 31, 2026, with xAI alone posting a $6.35 billion operating loss. Starlink remains SpaceX’s primary revenue driver, generating over $11 billion in 2025 and accounting for 60% of total revenue. The service now has over 10 million users across 150 markets. In May, SpaceX raised Starlink consumer plan prices by $5 to $10 per month, signaling a shift toward maximizing revenue from existing subscribers. The merger with xAI, announced in February, valued the combined entity at $1.25 trillion, making it the world’s most valuable private company at the time. Musk stated the move aimed to build orbital data centers, arguing terrestrial energy demands from AI cannot be met sustainably. The IPO’s success contrasts with SpaceX’s ongoing financial challenges, particularly in its AI and satellite divisions.