Elon Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX, is now valued at £1.4 trillion as it gears up for its highly anticipated stock market debut. The company recently sold $75 billion (£55bn) worth of shares at $135 (£100) each, drawing significant interest from investors, resulting in an oversubscribed sale.
With SpaceX’s shares set to begin trading on the Nasdaq index under the ticker symbol “SPCX,” Elon Musk, who is already the world’s wealthiest individual, is poised to become a trillionaire as he retains 82% of the company’s voting power. SpaceX has diversified its business portfolio to include space rockets, Starlink satellites, artificial intelligence, and X, previously known as Twitter.
Retail investors are expected to have access to 20-25% of SpaceX’s stock, a higher proportion than usual in initial public offerings. The overwhelming demand for shares, with orders totaling around £75 billion, reflects the widespread interest in the company. While the IPO is taking place in New York, investment platforms in the UK are enabling British investors to participate in buying SpaceX shares.
SpaceX’s record-breaking share sale surpasses the previous largest IPO set by Saudi Aramco in 2019. SpaceX is the first of a trio of companies with valuations exceeding $1 trillion, with AI competitors Anthropic and OpenAi also preparing to go public.
As SpaceX’s IPO generates excitement, some analysts caution that the company may be overvalued. MorningStar suggests that SpaceX shares may be worth less than their IPO price, highlighting uncertainties surrounding the valuation, particularly in the AI sector.
Oxfam has raised concerns about the concentration of wealth as Elon Musk approaches trillionaire status, emphasizing the widening wealth gap and its impact on global democracy. The charity underscores the need to address economic inequalities and calls for a reevaluation of how wealth is distributed globally.