SpaceX Raises $75 Billion and Thrusts Elon Musk Into Unprecedented Trillion Dollar Territory

Elon Musk stepped into a financial category of his own on June 12 as SpaceX arrived on Wall Street in the largest stock offering ever completed. By the end of the trading day, the company's debut had helped push Musk's estimated fortune beyond $1 trillion, a level no individual had previously entered.

The company raised about $75 billion in the record breaking offering, according to the Associated Press. Shares began trading under the ticker symbol SPCX after months of anticipation surrounding one of the most closely watched public debuts ever seen on Wall Street.

Ticker boards turned green almost immediately after the opening bell. Buyers piled into the stock and briefly pushed SpaceX above a $2.2 trillion valuation as orders flooded the market during the first hours of activity.

Nasdaq MarketSite in New York became the center of the celebration. Giant displays flashed the SpaceX logo while Gwynne Shotwell joined employees for the opening ceremony and television cameras captured the scene from the exchange floor.

Paperwork filed before the launch showed the extraordinary scale of investor demand. More than 555 million shares were sold at $135 each, producing a fundraising total that eclipsed every previous initial public offering.

Electronic ticker boards rolled higher throughout the afternoon. At one point the stock traded above $176, reflecting investor enthusiasm for a business built around reusable rockets, satellite communications and spacecraft development.

Musk's personal fortune produced the article's biggest consequence. His stake in SpaceX, combined with holdings in Tesla and several other ventures, pushed his estimated net worth above the trillion dollar threshold and established a capital apex never before achieved by an individual.

Starbase, Texas served as Musk's command center while celebrations unfolded in Manhattan. Employees, traders and investors watched from opposite ends of the country as the aerospace giant's valuation continued climbing throughout the session.

Closing figures underscored the scale of the debut. SpaceX finished its first trading day near $161 per share and ended the session with a market value exceeding $2.1 trillion.

When the final bell rang, SpaceX stood among the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world. Musk walked away with an even larger distinction: becoming the first trillionaire in recorded finance.