SpaceX, the rocket and satellite company founded by Elon Musk, has finalized its initial public offering (IPO), marking the largest stock market debut in history. This milestone reflects Musk’s significant influence in the tech sector and the public’s confidence in his business acumen.
On Thursday, SpaceX confirmed a share price of $135 for the IPO, with plans to sell over 555 million shares, the company announced. This move is projected to raise approximately $75 billion from the offering, placing SpaceX’s valuation at about $1.77 trillion.
This IPO surpasses the record set by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, which was valued at $1.7 trillion and raised over $29 billion in 2019. SpaceX will start public trading on Friday with the ticker symbol SPCX.
The journey to the stock market for SpaceX has been marked by numerous achievements. As the largest IPO, SpaceX also stands out as the leading space company under the management of the world’s wealthiest individual. The company’s public debut is expected to pave the way for further significant offerings, potentially generating substantial wealth across Silicon Valley and Wall Street, and contributing to the rise of new influential business giants.
Recent filings by Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude chatbot, and its competitor OpenAI, known for creating ChatGPT, suggest that these companies may also go public soon. Both companies have valuations nearing $1 trillion. If they succeed, it will represent another significant milestone, with three trillion-dollar-value companies entering the stock market for the first time.
A prominent aspect of these IPOs is the potential for substantial wealth generation among already wealthy individuals. With SpaceX shares priced at $135, the stake held by Musk is projected to be worth more than $860 billion. According to company documents, Musk is restricted from selling certain SpaceX shares until specific operational goals are met.