Inside the SpaceX IPO: How Elon Musk Became the World's First Trillionaire

Underwriters also had the option to purchase an additional 83 million shares, which could add another $11.2 billion to the total raise .

How Musk Arrived at a Trillion-Dollar Fortune

Musk's path to the trillion-dollar mark is a straightforward math problem with eye-popping inputs. According to CNBC, his ownership stake in SpaceX was worth more than $766 billion when shares opened at $150 . Combined with his Tesla holdings, estimated at $280 billion, his total net worth reached roughly $1.05 trillion . The IPO alone added more than $180 billion to his fortune in a single day .

The scale of that wealth is difficult to contextualize. CNBC noted that Musk is now worth more than the next five richest billionaires combined, and his personal net worth exceeds the entire GDP of countries like Taiwan, Ireland, or Sweden .

Different sources report slightly different ownership percentages, which affects the exact calculation. Some reports estimate Musk owns roughly 42% of SpaceX through a dual-class share structure , while others place his stake closer to 38% . Regardless of the precise figure, the IPO's immediate pop made the trillionaire milestone inevitable.

Wall Street's Bull and Bear Cases

While the IPO's headline numbers are historic, Wall Street is deeply split on whether SpaceX can justify its $1.77 trillion price tag.

The bull case rests on SpaceX's dominance in reusable rockets, its Starlink satellite broadband business with millions of subscribers, and growing AI and defense contracts. Bulls argue that these businesses justify a premium valuation, and the first-day 26% surge reflected strong underlying investor demand . The IPO's performance also serves as a test of the so-called "Musk premium" — the market's willingness to assign lofty valuations to companies associated with Musk, a phenomenon that previously pushed Tesla's valuation past $1 trillion .

The bear case is equally forceful. Morningstar analyst Nicolas Owens published research suggesting SpaceX stock is worth roughly $63 per share — less than half the $135 offer price . Skeptics point out that SpaceX's addressable market may be closer to $129 billion rather than the $1.6 trillion Musk has claimed in regulatory filings . Motley Fool also highlighted a "$974 billion warning" from historical IPO data: many mega-IPOs have underperformed after their initial pop, leaving late-arriving investors holding the bag .

Three independent pricing signals now bracket where the stock might trade over its first 90 days: Morningstar's analysis at $63, the offer price at $135, and crypto prediction markets that implied a valuation around $2.3 trillion — roughly $175 per share .

The Tesla Merger Clue Hidden in the Filing

Buried in SpaceX's amended IPO paperwork is a single sentence that has analysts reading between the lines. The filing states that the company "may issue a significant amount of equity in connection with future transactions" .

Fortune's Shawn Tully reported that analysts interpret this as a strong signal that Musk plans to eventually merge SpaceX with Tesla, creating a combined aerospace, automotive, and artificial intelligence conglomerate . Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, a longtime Tesla bull, has said there is more than an 80% chance such a merger will happen post-IPO . While no deal has been announced, the provision gives SpaceX the flexibility to execute a stock-for-stock transaction with Tesla down the line.

Beyond the merger speculation, the IPO created more immediate wealth effects. Thousands of SpaceX employees and executives who held stock became new millionaires — and several became billionaires — overnight . The company also reserved 5% of its shares for "certain employees and persons" connected to Musk, a pool worth roughly $3.75 billion to $4 billion .

For investors trying to make sense of the debut, the near-term question is straightforward: does SpaceX grow into its $1.77 trillion valuation, or does history's $974 billion warning prove correct? The bull and bear cases will play out in public markets for the first time, under the ticker SPCX.