SpaceX surged on its market debut Friday, opening at $150 per share, well above the $135 IPO price set Thursday. Within 30 minutes the price hit $165, leaving Elon Musk, whose stakes in Tesla, Neuralink and the Boring Company remain, as the world’s first trillion‑dollar individual. The meteoric rise also reignited debate over soaring wealth gaps as billionaire fortunes surge.

Despite investor enthusiasm, SpaceX posted a $4.9 billion loss in 2023, contrasted with a $791 million profit this year as AI spending surged. Revenue climbed 33 percent to $18.7 billion, underscoring growth potential but not profitability. The debut follows Cerebras’ 68 percent first‑day jump and signals a wave of AI‑heavy IPOs from firms like Anthropic and OpenAI.

The float values SpaceX at roughly $2 trillion, putting it on par with the Magnificent 7 tech giants that have reshaped market caps. Limited float and strong demand kept the share price near $172, about 30 percent above the offer. Investors now own a slice of a loss‑making but strategically critical space and AI platform.

Leveraged ETFs tied to SpaceX have already filed, offering high‑risk, short‑term bets for fans eager to amplify exposure to the rocket maker’s volatile stock. The products borrow against the underlying share price, magnifying gains and losses, and have attracted billions of dollars in inflows despite regulatory warnings. Analysts caution that limited float and insider lock‑ups could trigger sharp corrections once the initial frenzy eases.