SpaceX IPO: Shares surge as Tesla merger talk returns

SpaceX IPO – SpaceX priced its IPO at $135 per share, opened at $150 on Nasdaq, and by the end of the session closed at $160.95—after a day that lifted Musk’s paper wealth and reignited debate about how much power Elon Musk could consolidate, including fresh talk from Gwyn

By the time SpaceX shares started trading on Nasdaq, the numbers already felt unreal. The company priced 555.6 million shares at $135 each to raise $75 billion—an offering that became the largest IPO in history—and then it showed up ready to move.

SpaceX opened at $150, an 11% jump on the most anticipated debut in history. It kept climbing. In midday trading, SpaceX shares soared 30%, and by session’s end they closed at $160.95, up 19%. The trading volume matched the hype.

Robinhood said it had seen “record-breaking traffic on its trading platform in the hours after SpaceX’s historic public markets debut.”

For Elon Musk, it was a day that came with both markets and messaging. He turned to X—his social media platform—to praise the people behind the company as the stock rose. “I love the incredible people of SpaceX beyond words,” he wrote Friday afternoon, reposting multiple SpaceX IPO-related posts. One included a photo of insiders wearing green shoes. a nod to the “green shoe option. ” a provision in an IPO underwriting agreement that allows underwriters to sell up to 15% more shares than originally planned if demand is strong.

The attention wasn’t only about the stock price. SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell appeared on CNBC on Friday, and her comments landed particularly close to Tesla. At one point, Shotwell said a “merger between SpaceX and Tesla might make Elon’s life a little easier.”

Banks also cashed in on the momentum. About $500 million in total fees went to banks for the deal, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley cited as the big winners.

Even as the day’s trading settled, the story was still wide open—especially for anyone trying to understand what public ownership changes, and what it doesn’t.

The way the IPO gets tracked is its own kind of ritual: SpaceX is debuting on Nasdaq. and the official Nasdaq listing carries the price of record as soon as one exists. Nasdaq also posted video of the SpaceX crew ringing the bell. For rapid updates on any hiccups in getting the stock to market. financial outlets such as Bloomberg and CNBC ran live coverage.

Under the surface, the “who benefits” question quickly becomes the more human one.

SpaceX is now the world’s largest IPO in history. and it promises big paydays for investors and employees—along with the kind of wealth that only happens when markets and founders collide at scale. Musk’s paper wealth has been described as more than $1. 000. 000. 000. 000 after the IPO. setting up the claim that he becomes the world’s first trillionaire.

Musk’s control also remains central to how the public company will operate. As CEO, he holds about 85.1% of the company’s voting power. In a separate framing of influence. it was also noted that Musk will have more than 50% of the voting power. described as creating a control grip “that goes far beyond what other tech founders enjoy.”.

For employees, the numbers are striking in a different way: 4,400 SpaceX employees could become millionaires, according to the NYT.

And for smaller investors who came in before the IPO, the promise can come with friction. The article pointed out that SpaceX SPV investors won’t know their true holdings until post-IPO lock-ups lift, raising the risk of hidden fees, lengthy payout delays, and even outright fraud.

The day’s price action and the control story connect back to the S-1 filing—the document that gave the market its first unusually detailed look inside SpaceX. The registration statement included financials and a view into the company’s multiple businesses. and it continued to be amended as the IPO date approached.

The S-1 content also carried warnings and big themes. It detailed a business dominated by Starlink satellite internet, more than $37 billion in losses, and future prospects through xAI. It also highlighted that SpaceX lost $4.9 billion on revenues of over $18 billion in 2025. only a fraction of the more than $37 billion lost since SpaceX’s inception.

The filing also contained the kind of language that traders read closely: SpaceX warned investors of future dilution, adding fuel to Tesla merger rumors. That dovetails with Shotwell’s on-camera remark about a possible SpaceX-Tesla merger.

There were compute deals in the pre-IPO run-up too, mostly selling off compute to improve its balance sheet. Among them: Anthropic will pay xAI $1.25B per month for compute. with initial coverage of the Anthropic deal dated May 20. and a separate point that opinions vary on how long Anthropic’s lease with SpaceX lasts. with Elon Musk downplaying the duration of SpaceX’s contract. Google will pay SpaceX $920M per month for compute. described by a Google representative as a short-term deal addressing unexpected demand for its recently launched AI products.

The picture that emerges from all of this is simple to feel even if it’s hard to hold in your head. SpaceX’s IPO didn’t just deliver a record price—it delivered a new balance sheet reality. a new public-company structure. and a new runway for questions about control. dilution. and how Musk’s other ventures fit into the same machine.

For now, shares are still moving and the coverage is still unfolding. This article was originally published at 10 am ET, June 12, 2026, and it was updated with new coverage of the SpaceX IPO, share price, and other related events.

SpaceX IPO Nasdaq Elon Musk Starlink Gwynne Shotwell Tesla merger green shoe option xAI Anthropic compute deal