SpaceX could end up in your retirement account next.
When SpaceX’s initial public offering began on June 12, it broke a Wall Street record as the highest-priced IPO in financial history, raising more than $75 billion in cold, hard cash. The Frankensteined amalgamation of Elon Musk’s aerospace and AI ventures is now one of the most traded companies in the world, with a public value of around $2 trillion.
Since xAI is integrated within SpaceX, this also marks the first time the AI giant has entered the public market, beating rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic.
After years of private tech companies closing the books on public investment, a wave of new IPOs has sparked a frenzy among investors hungry for a piece of the world’s biggest companies.
That fever is what made SpaceX’s public stock so successful on its first day of trading. Shares surged past their opening price of $135, rising 19% to $161 in the closing bell. Over the past few weeks, prices have risen and fallen in daily fluctuations.
Whether you plan to get financially involved with an AI company or Musk’s venture, you may not have a choice in the matter. SpaceX stock will likely end up in your retirement account, along with millions in the children’s savings accounts. Here’s everything you need to know.
When SpaceX went public, Musk became the world’s first billionaire.
Musk became the first trillionaire in the world (at that time he did not exist)
Musk, the CEO and largest shareholder of SpaceX and Tesla, is the first person in the world to reach a net worth of more than $1 trillion, although his trillionaire status depends on the day of the week.
At its peak since the SpaceX IPO, Musk’s net worth was $1.32 trillion. But the wealth level of the former head of DOGE is closely tied to the stocks of Tesla and SpaceX, which fluctuate in value. After the stock fell on June 23, his net worth dropped to $957 billion. Musk recently achieved his status as a trillionaire.
Musk also lays claim to tangible assets — SpaceX’s aerospace hardware, Starlink satellites, AI servers and the X social media platform, along with Tesla cars, solar panels and robotics technology experiments — all of which add up to the company’s balance sheet value.
Tied to Musk’s wealth is his almost cult-like image as a visionary with enormous influence in markets, culture and politics. While many of Musk’s promises are unrealistic, he often makes lofty claims about sending crews to colonize Mars, producing fully self-driving cars and creating robots like “your own personal R2 unit.”
SpaceX stock saw the expected volatility
Ahead of SpaceX’s public debut last month, major institutions such as JPMorgan warned that SpaceX would be a volatile ride, due in part to a disconnect between the company’s heavy spending on AI data centers versus its promises of high revenue.
SpaceX’s gains accelerated after Day 1, when the stock reached an all-time high of $225.64 per share on June 16. Faced with negative market conditions, the stock then fell, erasing previous gains before settling around $154 per share on June 22. By the end of June, SpaceX’s stock had begun to decline gradually, 70 gradually falling back some of the lost money.
CNN reported that SpaceX has consistently ranked among the two best-selling stocks each day since the IPO.
SpaceX will soon exit the Nasdaq-100. That would legally require stocks to be bought and added to the retirement accounts of millions.
SpaceX could be in your retirement account soon
SpaceX stock could end up in millions of 401(k) retirement accounts, even if you never choose to invest in it. A recent Nasdaq rule change allowed Musk to avoid the standard 12-month probationary period for SpaceX listings, paving the way for the company to enter the Nasdaq-100 before the market opens on July 7.
A video report from More Perfect Union says that Musk is arming SpaceX for an automatic buyout of index funds. Critics have argued that the move quietly shifts the risk to everyday families and retirees, whose investment accounts will be affected if the market crashes. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, called on the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate (PDF), warning the move sets a “dangerous precedent” for future public offerings.
Analysts such as former economic adviser Jared Bernstein say avoiding such exposure can be difficult because index fund structures make it difficult for you to exit. “These tech brothers are using their massive market power to bundle these potentially powerful and illiquid assets into millions of retirement accounts,” Bernstein wrote on Substack.
Musk is still firmly in charge
As SpaceX’s largest shareholder, Elon Musk owns approximately 42% of SpaceX’s outstanding shares. Even without having a majority of equity ownership, that share translates into control.
Most of Musk’s ownership comes in the form of high-voting shares, giving him 85% of the voting power and significant influence over SpaceX’s future.
This level of power shines in Big Tech. Many founders of Silicon Valley, such as billionaires Bill Gates and Peter Thiel, completely abandoned their first children. Others have significantly reduced their figures: Mark Zuckerberg owns 13% of Meta, and Sergey Brin owns 6% of Alphabet, the parent company of Google.
Individual investors were unusually represented in buying SpaceX’s IPO shares.
Retail investors were drawn into the mix
When a large company goes public, most of the shares are often snapped up by the power players and institutions of Wall Street: banks, hedge funds and mutual funds. A small amount of shares, usually around 10%, is usually recorded by retail investors, ie everyday people who buy and sell their own funds.
SpaceX stood out by holding the largest share — 30% — from retail investors. But that didn’t translate into wider reach. Financial Times editor Robin Wigglesworth noted that an unusually large retail share could indicate weak demand from professional investors. The problem is that when the shares are distributed, the burden shifts to uninformed buyers, who will have to absorb SpaceX’s uncontrollable price swings.
Despite the massive carveout of retail investors, demand still outstrips supply, and there weren’t enough shares to go around for everyday investors at the time of the IPO, according to CNBC. Some chose to sell quickly on the first day, something that may have contributed to SpaceX’s high trading levels.
SpaceX has yet to post a profit
SpaceX is generating huge revenue, but still operating at a loss. Information reported that although the company has generated more than $ 18.5 billion in 2025, Musk’s aerospace and AI company still lost about 5 billion.
The main reason is the huge spending on “chips and data centers” to implement xAI projects, which reportedly cost SpaceX $13 billion last year. Depreciation of rockets, satellites and other space equipment accounted for another $6.6 billion.
Despite the negative cash flow, the market momentum of SpaceX shows that it is still valued as a powerhouse of the future. That disconnect reflects a broader pattern in technology and AI in particular, where expectations are high even if the benefits are low. The rise in Musk’s net worth is part of “vibes-based accounting,” where market sentiment trumps actual financial results.
Musk has appeared at Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign rallies, promoting a working relationship between the two wealthy individuals.
Musk and SpaceX could boost Trump, too
Musk’s relationship with President Donald Trump may be warming again, at least enough for SpaceX to show up in discussions about new financial accounts for Trump’s children. Semafor reported that officials discussed offering SpaceX stock to settle the accounts.
Trump’s accounts are designed as savings, IRA-style investment accounts for children, intended to persuade the next generation to participate in the stock market. Some supporters see them as a way to encourage long-term investments, while critics raise concerns that the accounts will disproportionately benefit well-to-do American families.
Tensions between Musk and Trump have appeared to have eased in recent months, following public disagreements and a spat on social media over last year’s White House budget bill. If SpaceX stock ends up in those accounts, it could give the program a direct link to Musk and a more visible role in the politically-backed investment push.
SpaceX may have sent a red flag to OpenAI
SpaceX’s record launch may have shaken OpenAI’s plan to go public. According to the New York Times, CEO Sam Altman has been exploring an IPO as soon as this year, with bankers and lawyers seeking a valuation of around $1 trillion. It is now more likely that OpenAI will wait until 2027 to make its publicly traded debut, according to people involved in the discussions.
While it’s impossible to pinpoint the exact reason for the change of heart, moving forward with an AI IPO in a market that doubts SpaceX’s high-flying valuation could be what spooked Altman. OpenAI’s advisers have reportedly warned the company against moving too soon, warning that it lacks the built-in attention Musk has helped fuel SpaceX’s market share.
Institutional investors, who are the backbone of any public offering, may not respond enthusiastically to an unsound company operating at significant financial losses. And after experiencing market volatility associated with the SpaceX IPO, retail investors may not be quick to open their OpenAI wallets.