More than 4,000 people are expected to have become millionaires as Elon Musk’s space company, SpaceX, goes public.
The company set its final initial public offering (IPO) price at A$192 per share, making it one of the most expensive entries into the stock market in history.
At this valuation, SpaceX is worth around A$2.52 trillion, a milestone that also marks Elon Musk as the world’s first trillionaire in Australian dollar terms.
The company reportedly sold 555 million shares within hours of the offering.
While nearly half of the company is owned by Musk, thousands of current and former employees are set to gain significant wealth through their share allocations.
For years, SpaceX has rewarded staff with stock options as part of compensation packages instead of traditional bonuses or higher salaries.
Investment platform Hill.com estimates that around 4,400 employees could become millionaires through the IPO, while approximately 400 individuals may see gains exceeding $100 million.
However, reports from The New York Times noted that some early employees had previously sold their shares in exchange for smaller benefits, including restaurant gift cards.
The IPO has also opened participation to retail investors alongside major institutions, allowing ordinary supporters of Musk to invest in the company.
Despite strong market enthusiasm, some analysts remain cautious. Morningstar analysts estimate SpaceX may be worth only about half of its current valuation.
They argue that the IPO pricing assumes major technological breakthroughs, including rapidly reusable Starship rockets and commercial space-based data centres—developments that have yet to be achieved.
Nevertheless, SpaceX’s listing has placed it among the world’s top 10 most valuable public companies, surpassing even Tesla, another of Musk’s firms.
The IPO is also reported to be nearly three times larger than any previous public offering in history.
Among retail participants are around 30,000 Australians who submitted bids through CommSec.
Meanwhile, Musk’s growing wealth has drawn criticism from global inequality advocates, including Oxfam’s Nabil Ahmed, who warned that extreme concentration of wealth poses risks to democracy and economic fairness.
Despite criticism, Musk remained active on social media platform X during the day, sharing posts related to immigration debates in the United Kingdom.
