Inside SpaceX’s Explosive Options Debut: $2.8 Billion in Premium, Moonshot Bets, and a New Market Leader

The frenzy surrounding SpaceX's record-breaking IPO reached a new peak on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, as options on the stock began trading and instantly obliterated historical volume records. Within minutes, it was clear that the derivatives market had never seen anything like this for a newly public company.

A Stock Already in Orbit Meets the Options Market

SpaceX priced its IPO at $135 per share on June 11, raising a historic $75 billion . By the time options started trading two sessions later, the stock had already rocketed higher. On its first day of trading, June 12, shares jumped 19% to close at $161.11, with an intraday swing from $150 to as high as $176.52 . Monday brought another ~19.6% gain, pushing shares to around $193 .

On options debut day itself, the stock surged more than 14%, trading in a range of approximately $201 to $212 . During the session, SpaceX's market capitalization briefly eclipsed both Amazon and Microsoft, making it the fourth most valuable company in the world .

Record-Shattering Volume and Premium

By every meaningful metric, the first day of SpaceX options trading rewrote the history books:

• Contract Volume: Approximately 1.8 million options contracts changed hands. This destroyed the previous first-day record of around 364,000 contracts set by Meta Platforms after its 2012 IPO .
• Dollar Premium: Analysts estimated that roughly $2.8 billion in notional option premium traded during the session .
• Trading Pace: Over 500,000 contracts traded in the first hour, with activity at one point reaching a blistering 10,000 contracts per minute .

This activity catapulted SpaceX immediately into the top tier of single-stock options. By 30 minutes into the session, it ranked third in volume, trailing only Tesla and Nvidia . By the end of the day, data showed that call volume ranked fifth highest among all U.S. equities, while overall trading made SpaceX the second-most actively traded single-name option, behind only Tesla .

A Surge of Bullish Bets and Aggressive Hedging

The flow of trades revealed a market gripped by a mix of extreme bullish speculation and anxious hedging.

Call options were heavily favored, with a put-call ratio of roughly 0.7, meaning significantly more calls than puts were traded . The most actively traded contracts included far out-of-the-money calls with strikes at $300 and even $380 per share, targeting what one strategist called "moonshot" gains . CNBC reported that veteran traders were stunned by bets being placed on 80% overnight gains for the stock .

Institutional participation was immediate and substantial. Within the first 30 minutes, over $1.4 billion in premium had already flowed, signaling large trades alongside the retail frenzy . Sophisticated strategies were also evident. TradeStation recommended vertical call spreads—buying a near-the-money call and selling one further out—to manage the extreme implied volatility, which peaked near 170% . Saxo noted similar activity in put spreads used to hedge the massive rally .

Strategists at Susquehanna highlighted a crucial feature of the new market: the options pricing implied a roughly 15 percent probability of a 50 percent move in either direction over the next three months. "The largest trades increasingly appeared to be hedges associated with future supply risks," noted Susquehanna strategist Chris Murphy, who also warned that the tail-risk pricing makes the options "expensive and dangerous" for inexperienced traders .

The Next Catalyst: Weekly Options

The launch occurred during an already chaotic week for derivatives markets, which included a Federal Reserve meeting and the quarterly "triple witching" expiration . Exchanges amplified the potential for future volatility by formally requesting to list weekly options expirations starting Thursday, June 18, for dates including June 26, July 2, and July 10 .

The addition of short-dated weekly contracts is widely expected to intensify trading activity by providing new vehicles for leveraged bets on the stock's dramatic daily swings.

Outlook: The New Heavyweight in Derivatives

Market observers expect SpaceX options to remain among the most actively traded single-stock derivatives globally. Cboe Global Markets described the first day as the "most aggressive first-day trading activity ever" . One veteran options trader predicted on CNBC that SpaceX could surpass both Nvidia and Tesla in daily options volume as more strikes and expirations become available .

Underpinning this outlook is a unique combination: an investor base with record retail enthusiasm, a high absolute share price above $200, and a complete absence of historical volatility to anchor pricing. While implied volatility may compress over time, the stock's narrative-driven moves and scheduled weekly listings point to sustained heavy volumes. The message from the first day was clear: the options market had found a new leader.