Finance

SpaceX IPO Soars Further as Options Break Records

Is SpaceX's IPO a $2 trillion speculative trap or the most asymmetric opportunity in market history?

Published JUN 16

SpaceX IPO Soars Further as Options Break Records

Story

Above: The SpaceX logo displayed on a smartphone in front of a stock market chart on June 16. Image credit: Cheng Xin/Getty Images

The Facts

SpaceX options trading launched Tuesday, with roughly 927,000 contracts changing hands by 11:30 a.m. ET, surpassing the first-day record of 364,000 contracts set by Meta Platforms in 2012, according to Cboe Global Markets data.
Reuters
The Wall Street Journal
SpaceX shares climbed 10% to $211.63 on Tuesday, briefly topping Microsoft's market valuation, as more than 500,000 options contracts changed hands within the first hour of trading, according to Trade Alert data.
Barrons
Reuters
SpaceX's IPO proceeds reached a total of $85.7 billion after underwriters, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, exercised an overallotment option — known as a "greenshoe" — to purchase an additional 83.3 million shares beyond the initial $75 billion raised.
Gotrade
CNBC
SpaceX shares were priced at $135 and debuted on the Nasdaq on June 12, rising 19% to close near $161, pushing the company's valuation past $2 trillion. The stock has gained more than 40% since its debut.
TechCrunch
Gotrade
Demand for the SpaceX IPO reached approximately $250 billion before the order book closed, making the offering roughly 3.3 times oversubscribed. The offering included a larger retail investor allocation than is typical for major IPOs.
BBC News
Equiti Global
SpaceX reported sales of $18.67 billion and a net loss of $4.94 billion last year following its merger with xAI. The company plans to use IPO proceeds to fund Starship rocket development, Starlink satellite expansion and orbital AI data centers.
CNBC
Reuters

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

SpaceX's IPO is a textbook case of hype outrunning reality, as the stock is trading at 115 times sales while losing nearly $5 billion a year. Morningstar pegs fair value at just $63 a share, a 53% discount to the offering price, because the moonshot AI scenario has only a 7% chance of working. Buying into a $2 trillion valuation built on unproven orbital data centers and a single man's unchecked voting control is speculation, not investing.

Morning Star

Options Animal on Substack

Narrative B

SpaceX is a civilization-scale bet on the off-Earth economy, and traditional valuation math simply doesn't apply. Orbital AI compute, a reusable Starship dropping launch costs 500-fold, and Starlink's global cash engine make this the most asymmetric opportunity in market history. Betting against Elon Musk's track record has been wrong every single time, and the options market is already pricing in unprecedented volatility spikes that reward prepared traders.