Elon Musk becomes world’s first trillionaire as SpaceX ends trading day with valuation of $2.1tn – as it happened

SpaceX’s blockbuster initial public offering (IPO) turned out to be a smooth, successful day for the rocket, AI. satellite communications company. Its shares closed the day at $160.95, around 20% higher than its IPO price of $135. right in the range that eased Wall Street’s nerves on the stock. It easily broke the record for largest ever public offering, raising $75bn,. ending the day at a valuation of $2.1tn. Elon Musk, who began the day as the world’s richest man, also became its first trillionaire.

The broader implications of SpaceX’s public debut and Musk’s extreme wealth will take longer to play out. The IPO marks a staggering accumulation of wealth for Musk, his hangers-on and powerful investment firms. It also will tie more everyday Americans to his empire, as many 401k retirement funds. index funds will wind up owning a stake in the company.

The company’s future is also still reliant on Musk’s grand, futuristic plans for data centers in space. million-man colonies on Mars to come to fruition. SpaceX’s filings earlier this year revealed that it loses billions of dollars each year. while primarily turning a profit on its satellite internet service. As a publicly traded company, SpaceX will now be subject to more scrutiny and questions about its true value.

Whatever future difficulties, Musk spent the day touting his current success. He professed his love for SpaceX’s employees. reposted praise on X, the social media company that as of this year also falls under SpaceX’s empire.

Musk’s newfound trillionaire status also drew street protests and political backlash. It prompted a series of posts from Democrats. progressive politicians calling for increased taxes on the ultra-rich and condemnations of economic inequality. Senators including Bernie Sanders. Elizabeth Warren, along with California Governor Gavin Newsom and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani all criticized Musk.

When looking at the wealth generated by the AI boom. consolidated among the world’s wealthiest people, French economist Gabriel Zucman warned that economic disparity could have a profound effect on society in the years to come.

“The battle between democracy and oligarchy will be the defining battle of the 21st century,” Zucman said.

SpaceX ends the day with a closing price of $160.95. It’s up 19% from its initial price of $135 per share and 7% from the start of public trading.

The Nasdaq exchange lists the company’s value at $2.1tn at market close.

The stock lost a little steam over the day’s last two hours of trading. briefly dipping down below $160 per share after hitting a high of around $176 earlier in the day. The final figure is still a significant pop from its opening price, however,. represents a successful, non-volatile IPO for the company.

A host of prominent Democrats criticized Musk on X as SpaceX shares began to trade, framing his growing fortune as an example of glaring inequality in the US. a broken system. Several, including Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, called for legislation to tax extreme wealth.

“The typical American household would have to work more than 11 MILLION years to make Elon Musk’s level of wealth,” Warren posted. “We need a wealth tax”.

California governor. potential 2028 presidential candidate Gavin Newsom posted “when the federal government is for sale, the rich get richer and everyone else gets shafted,” adding that “the system is rigged”. Controversial Maine senate candidate Graham Platner meanwhile called on the public to make Musk the last ever trillionaire.

The Democratic Party’s official account also criticized Musk. referencing the sweeping cuts that he made while in government as leader of his Department of Government Efficiency. “The same man who cut children’s cancer research is now a trillionaire,” The Democrats’ account posted.

Musk’s fortune has grown by a staggering amount in the past decade. Ten years ago the tech mogul was worth around $14bn, according to Forbes.

His net worth then grew to around $189bn by 2021. when he surpassed Jeff Bezos to become the richest man in the world. It is now around six times higher than that already astronomical figure.

Anti-billionaire protesters gather at JPMorgan in New York City

A small group of protesters gathered outside JPMorgan’s Manhattan headquarters on Friday. with signs stating: “Elon Musk is stealing your pension.”

“The billionaire class is willing to rig every rule in the book to enrich themselves,” said Jonathan Westin. executive director of Climate Organizing Hub, a grassroots environmental group. “At a time where the majority of Americans are facing an affordability crisis, Musk is about to pilfer the retirement funds of working people to enrich himself. support an authoritarian political agenda.”

62% of American adults are invested in the stock market. through individual stocks, as well as those included in a mutual fund or retirement savings account, like a 401 (k) or IRA, according to 2025 Gallup data. SpaceX’s IPO has, in some ways, tied Americans’ financial future to the uncertain trajectory of AI.

At least three protesters were dressed up as “Trillionaires for Trump.” One of their signs read: “The market demands your sacrifice.”

Guardian columnist Eduardo Porter writes:

Americans are growing worried about what artificial intelligence portends for their futures. Eight in 10 Americans report concern over AI. compared with a third who report being excited, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll.

Skeptical though they may be, they are about to get more AI rammed down their throats. stuck into their pension plans and their investment portfolios, whether they want it or not.

First up is this week’s massive $75bn initial public offering (IPO) for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the largest ever.

The offering is just the first in a series: both Anthropic. OpenAI have already filed paperwork for their own IPOs later in the year, both near $1tn.

Even investors who don’t care to buy their stock will end up owning a bunch, either in their 401(k) retirement plans or among their holdings of market index funds, which are forced to buy AI shares in proportion to their weighting in stock indices like the Nasdaq. the S&P.

The company’s share price has stabilized between $165. $170 for a couple hours after peaking at $175 around 1 o’clock New York City time. The jump from the initial share price of $150 has added some $500bn to the company’s worth since the start of trading.

SpaceX’s shares reached a high of around $176 midday Friday, up 30% from the IPO price. The stock price fluctuated in the hours following shares hitting the market, dipping down a bit shortly after the high. hovering around $170 per share.

Many longstanding Musk allies stand to increase their fortunes by billions. SpaceX’s board. list of major investors is stocked with close friends and acolytes of Musk, some of whom have been tethered to him and his companies for over a decade.

Early investors include Musk buddies Steve Jurvetson, who recently bought a $125m mansion in Lake Tahoe,. Antonio Gracias, who stands to make tens of billions of dollars from the IPO. Musk’s younger brother Kimbal, who sits on the board at Tesla. until recent years was a board member of SpaceX, also owns a sizable amount of shares.

SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell, who has worked for two. a half decades with Musk and held her title since 2008, stands to see her stake of roughly 12.6m shares become worth more than $3bn, according to the Observer. CFO Bret Johnson could see his stake of 9.6m shares become worth $1.4bn.

Musk was in a celebratory mood on X as his rocket company went public. In a break from his usual online output boosting far-right influencers, attacking immigration. posting about race, Musk’s feed on Friday looked like a victory lap touting his success. He reposted well-wishers and positive news about the IPO, as well expressed his gratitude for SpaceX’s employees.

“I love the incredible people of SpaceX beyond words,” Musk said.

Musk’s status as the world’s first trillionaire is a symbol of the vast wealth being accumulated amid the tech. AI boom. OpenAI. Anthropic’s IPOs later this year are additionally set to result in huge financial gains for other tech moguls and wealthy investors.

It’s a consolidation of extreme wealth that highlights massive economic disparities. could have profound effects on society, as described by French economist Gabriel Zucman. “There is a fundamental tension in democratic societies between extreme wealth …. the very possibility of a well-functioning democracy,” said Zucman. “After World War II, it looked like extreme wealth belonged to the past” but now, he said, “But as the AI boom is minting billionaires by the day. the first trillionaires are now coming into view, we cannot ignore it anymore. The battle between democracy and oligarchy will be the defining battle of the 21st century”.

In today’s episode of The Guardian’s new podcast, Stateside with Kai. Carter, US tech editor Blake Montgomery tells Kai Wright about SpaceX’s plan to create a self-sustaining city of one million people on Mars. If that happens, Musk could earn additional shares and compensation.

Elon Musk ’s SpaceX has made the largest-ever stock market debut today. with a valuation of over $2tn, making Musk the world’s first trillionaire. What’s behind the company’s astronomical valuation? A promise to make humanity multiplanetary.

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The jump in SpaceX’s share price today. as its floats on the US stock market, means Elon Musk has become the world’s first trillionaire.

His 38% stake in SpaceX is now worth around $800bn. after they jumped 20% in early trading, with the whole company’s valuation now over $2tn.

Musk also owns just over 10% of Tesla. a stake worth $165bn, plus options to acquire another nearly 8% stake, worth $114bn according to Forbes’s calculations.

Forbes had calculated Musk’s wealth at around $980bn before SpaceX’s shares started trading. so it would only have taken a small rise in the share price today to hit the one-trillion dollar figure.

Musk also owns stakes in his brain interface startup Neuralink. his tunneling firm Boring Company, plus has wealth from previous Tesla share sales.

Reminder: Oxfam has warned. the jump in Musk’s wealth to over a trillion dollars marks ‘a dark day for democracy’.

SpaceX’s shares are pushing higher. as investors who missed out in this week’s initial public offering try to buy a stake in the company.

They’re now up to $162.58, or 20% higher than the $135 IPO price.

That pushes SpaceX’s stock market valuation over the $2tn mark.

BOOM! SpaceX’s shares have begun trading 11% above their IPO price, as the biggest stock market float ever gets under way.

After an auction process that lasted more than two hours, SpaceX’s shares are finally trading on the Nasdaq at $150.

That’s a jump on the $135 which investors paid for each share in the company’s IPO. which raised a record $75bn.

It gives SpaceX a valuation of almost $2tn, above the $1.77tn set in the IPO.

SpaceX is now only expected to jump by around 12% when the company’s shares finally start trading.

Early quotes from the Nasdaq are now pointing to an indicative opening price of $151. Reuters reports, still above the IPO price of $135.

The price-discovery auction, where Nasdaq collects. matches buy and sell orders, ready for a smooth start to trading, is still continuing …

Back at the Nasdaq, SpaceX’s indicated opening price has continued to tick down a little.

A few minutes ago it was indicated to open at $160, 18.5% above the $135 IPO price.

The drama of today’s stock market float didn’t prevent SpaceX continuing with its day job.

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. to take 29 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.

Speaking before the company rang the Nasdaq opening bell, SpaceX chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell said:

double quotation mark I want everyone to know that we opened in a rather exciting way. We launched. Falcon 9 launched Starlink satellites to orbit. What company would do such a thing on the day that they open in the public market? SpaceX would.

Oxfam has also released polling showing. six in ten Britons (60%) think it is unacceptable for any individual to hold more than £1tn in personal wealth.

A timely finding, as SpaceX’s IPO appears to be poised to catapult Elon Musk into that position.

double quotation mark At the same time, three quarters of the public (76%) support a 2% wealth tax on assets over £10 million, which Oxfam says could raise an estimated £24 billion every year to help rebuild public services, reduce poverty. tackle inequality in the UK and around the world.

71% also believe the current economic system works mainly in the interests of the very wealthy rather than ordinary people - a finding the charity says reflects growing public frustration with extreme inequality. falling living standards.