Musk Becomes World's First Trillionaire as SpaceX Debuts at $2.1T Market Cap

SpaceX began trading on the Nasdaq on Friday after pricing the largest IPO on record at $135 a share, raising $75 billion at a $1.77 trillion valuation. The stock closed at $160.95 after touching $176 intraday, a 19% gain that pushed the market cap above $2.1 trillion and made SpaceX the sixth most valuable U.S. company. With only about 4% of shares in the float, SpaceX lobbied index providers including the Nasdaq 100 to fast-track inclusion. Musk's SpaceX and Tesla stakes pushed his paper wealth past $1 trillion, with Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, and Sequoia sitting on large gains.

COO Gwynne Shotwell used the debut to sharpen the story behind the valuation. She confirmed SpaceX expects to launch its first full AI1 orbital data-center satellites in late 2027, each roughly 70 meters long with 150 kilowatts of peak power, with compute payloads riding earlier Starlink and Starlink Mobile satellites as canary tests. She also left a future Tesla combination open, saying it "might make Elon's life a little easier," and SpaceX added new M&A risk-factor language about issuing significant equity in future transactions. Astronomers, meanwhile, warned the AI1 spacecraft could materially interfere with optical observations.

The day's other concrete moves landed around the IPO. Gilat's Wavestream subsidiary agreed to acquire Comtech's Satellite & Space Communications segment for $157.5 million, with $10 million paid up front and closing subject to HSR and CFIUS clearance. NASA detailed a revised Artemis lander concept under which Starship would dock with Orion in Earth orbit and perform translunar injection, lowering tanker counts, while Blue Origin reworks Blue Moon plans after losing its only launchpad. SpaceX flew its first post-IPO Falcon 9 on Monday, lofting Starlink 17-54 from Vandenberg and landing booster B1093 for the 624th SpaceX recovery.