SpaceX’s record-breaking stock market debut is forcing global investors to decide how much they are willing to pay today for a future built on rockets, satellites and orbital data centers.

On June 9, early coverage framed the offering as a leap of faith, with analysts saying SpaceX’s roughly $1.78 trillion listing “asks investors to buy Musk’s moonshots” in AI, Starlink and space-based computing long before they are proven.¹ The same day, another analysis laid out “the bull and bear cases for SpaceX,” predicting hundreds of billions in revenue by 2030 but warning that Starship, Starlink economics and AI compute are all untested at this scale.²

By June 10, the Financial Times argued that “not having an opinion on SpaceX is going to cost you,” underscoring that big asset managers would be judged on whether they bought or passed on the deal.³ Other coverage stressed that the IPO ambitions “ride on Starship’s path to Mars,” noting the company must prove its largest rocket can fly routinely before its grand plans pay off.⁴

Market tension intensified as “US tech stocks sink[ed] as volatility flares up on Wall Street” ahead of the listing,⁵ while gold fell to a six‑month low, with the SpaceX IPO cited among forces pulling speculative money out of safe havens.⁶ Another piece warned that “anything could happen,” calling the deal a major test for Wall Street banks pricing a mega‑IPO into choppy markets.⁷

On June 10, TechCrunch detailed “the three hard-tech moonshots fueling SpaceX’s unbelievable IPO,” arguing most of the valuation is a de facto call option on ambitious orbital data centers and AI infrastructure.⁸ It noted independent valuations from Morningstar and NYU’s Aswath Damodaran that sit far below the company’s bankers’ near‑$1.8 trillion assessment.⁸

On June 11, TechCrunch reported that “SpaceX SPV investors won't know their true holdings until post-IPO lock-ups lift,” describing multi‑layered special purpose vehicles that could delay payouts for months and, in rare cases, leave lower‑tier investors short of the shares they expect.⁹

That evening, SpaceX “officially” priced 555.6 million shares at $135, raising $75 billion and clinching “the largest IPO ever,” surpassing Saudi Aramco’s 2019 record.¹⁰ A separate TechCrunch report said the issue was “deeply over-subscribed,” with some institutions seeking $10 billion blocks and much of the valuation hinging on Musk’s space‑based AI and compute vision.⁸

On social media, bullish sentiment ran hot. Oppenheimer initiated coverage with an “Outperform” rating and a $190 price target, implying a $2.5 trillion market cap.Elon Musk (elonmusk)¹¹ Another widely shared post called retail demand “absolutely insane,” claiming more than $70 billion of small‑investor orders alone—almost enough to fill the entire $75 billion sale.Elon Musk (elonmusk)¹²

Yet even some Musk boosters acknowledged deep disagreement over what SpaceX is worth. One investor noted “a lot of hand wringing on the appropriate valuation,” with some large institutions seeing half the current value as fair and others imagining “15X appreciation ahead.”Elon Musk (elonmusk)¹³

Amid the frenzy, supporters highlighted the windfall for employees. Commentators celebrated that thousands of welders, technicians and even cafeteria workers could see life‑changing gains from long‑held equity,Elon Musk (elonmusk)¹⁴ and another viral post predicted the IPO “will create 4,400 new Millionaires.”Elon Musk (elonmusk)¹⁵

Behind the scenes, Musk and his team continued to sell the long game. One post, amplifying SpaceX’s own messaging, declared “Teams are go for launch with a $135 price per share for the SpaceX IPO,” explicitly tying the price to a new phase of the company’s mission.Elon Musk (elonmusk)¹⁶ Another explained the orbital compute vision in lay terms, likening the Sun to a “giant never-ending battery” and describing plans to send “big smart computer brains into space” on reusable Starship rockets.Elon Musk (elonmusk)¹⁷

As trading begins under the ticker SPCX, investors are left to weigh extraordinary technological ambition against execution risk, opaque pre‑IPO structures and a valuation many analysts say already bakes in years of perfect performance.