Today could mark one of the biggest days in stock market history—or set the stage for one of its greatest flops. SpaceX, the most hotly anticipated stock market debut ever, soared in its first minutes of trading on Friday. Elon Musk’s rocket, satellite, and AI empire made its long-awaited debut on both the Nasdaq Global Select Market and Nasdaq Texas under the ticker SPCX, capping a 24-year run as the most valuable, and most scrutinized, private company in the world. SpaceX opened at just above $150 a share just after 11:46AM.
The stock was up 13% above its target price of $135 a share, surging Musk’s net worth above $1 trillion and SpaceX’s valuation to more than twice that.
At noon Friday, the stock was hovering between $162 and $165. By 1PM, it soared to $175, up nearly 30% from its target price, before settling at above $169. Just after 1PM, SpaceX’s merch store included eight new items to honor their IPO. They include a $45 tote bag and a $15 sticker reading the SPCX ticker, as well as two separate t-shirts reading “The future is public.”
Musk addresses SpaceX employees at Nasdaq before debut
Ahead of the debut, the rocket, satellite and AI company’s CEO Elon Musk addressed Nasdaq in Texas, reiterating the company’s extraterrestrial goals. “SpaceX wants to be able to take you to the moon,” Musk said. “I am confident at this point that with the incredible team that we have here at SpaceX, that we will do that for you.”
