SpaceX's valuation has grown exponentially since its 2002 founding. Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Nearly 25 years ago, a mariachi band played at a SpaceX party while Elon Musk posed for a photo. The rocket company's head count was single digits back then. Today, it's over 22,000.
SpaceX started with two long-shot goals: make rockets cheaper to launch and, eventually, send mankind to Mars.
More than two decades later, Elon Musk's space company has decisively accomplished the first, and went public on Friday at a historic $1.8 trillion valuation. The trading milestone followed years of fiery explosions, reusable-rocket breakthroughs, astronaut flights, and the rise of Starlink, its golden goose satellite-internet business.
From the scrappy startup days to fiery launches (and plenty of explosions) and catching a returning rocket in giant mechanical pincers, these photos and videos show SpaceX's rise to IPO juggernaut.
2002: SpaceX is bornUsing part of the fortune he made from PayPal, Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 in an El Segundo, California, warehouse. The company sought to challenge entrenched players in the rocket industry — including Lockheed Martin and Boeing — and make space travel less expensive.
Those dreams had a meager beginning.
"SpaceX was less than 10 people back then," Musk wrote on X. "We didn't even have office furniture."
2002-2006: building the Falcon 1
Musk leans on a Falcon 1 rocket during an interview in 2004. Paul Harris/Getty Images SpaceX developed its first space-bound rocket, the Falcon 1, between 2002 and 2006. It cost about $100 million for the company to design and build.
2003: A Washington DC displaySpaceX trucked its first Falcon rocket across the country and displayed it outside the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, in December 2003.
The rocket display on Independence Avenue was one of the first stunts that introduced the fledgling startup to federal lawmakers.
2006-2008: The first three launches fail
SpaceX's first three attempts to launch the Falcon 1 rocket failed. Roberto Gonzalez/Getty Images The Falcon rocket's maiden voyage in March 2006 ended in failure because a fuel-line leak caused an engine fire. The ill-fated flight lasted around one minute.
The Falcon's next two attempts also failed at liftoff, pushing the company to the brink of collapse.
2008: First successful Falcon launch
Falcon 1's first successful launch happened on Omelek Island in 2008. Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty Images On September 28, 2008, Falcon 1 became the first privately developed liquid-fueled rocket to reach orbit. SpaceX flew Falcon 1 once more, successfully launching RazakSAT on July 14, 2009, its final Falcon 1 mission.
My video from the Hawthorne office of the final Falcon 1 launch (first ever success with deployment). This is one of those startup moments you never forget, and why you get into tech in the first place. 7/13/09. pic.twitter.com/nhQWelLdOQ
— Brian Singerman (@briansin) June 12, 2026 2010: Falcon 9 and Dragon
Onlookers take pictures as the Falcon 9 lifts off. Matt Stroshane/Getty Images SpaceX followed Falcon 1 with the much larger Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon, a spacecraft developed first to carry cargo to orbit and later adapted to carry astronauts.
2012: Dragon reaches ISS
The SpaceX Dragon successfully docked with the ISS. Michael Paulsen/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft reached the International Space Station on May 25, 2012, becoming the first commercial spacecraft to rendezvous with and berth at the orbiting laboratory.
2015: First successful landing of a Falcon 9 after an orbital launch
SpaceX landed a Falcon 9 first-stage booster at Cape Canaveral in December 2015 after launching satellites to orbit.
2016: Falcon 9 explosion
A Falcon 9 rocket exploded on a Florida launchpad during a preflight test in September 2016, when methane propellant was ignited. The blast destroyed the rocket and its payload, including satellites from Facebook.
2016: First successful drone ship landing
In April 2016, SpaceX landed a Falcon 9 booster on an ocean drone ship for the first time. NASA via Getty Images SpaceX had already proven it could land a Falcon 9 booster back on solid ground. In April 2016, it pulled off a harder trick: landing one on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean after launching a Dragon cargo spacecraft toward the International Space Station.
The landing on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You showed SpaceX could recover boosters, even on missions where the rocket did not have enough fuel left to return to land.
2018: Falcon Heavy and Starman
Elon Musk sent his Tesla Roadster to space on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in 2018. SpaceX via Getty Images The Falcon Heavy rocket tugged a Tesla Roadster carrying a driver-side mannequin nicknamed "Starman" (named after the David Bowie song) into space.
The cherry-red 2010 Roadster was once Musk's daily driver before it was launched out of Earth's atmosphere.
2019: Starlink satellite launch
SpaceX launched the first large batch of Starlink satellites in 2019, beginning the buildout of a satellite-internet network that later became one of the company's core businesses. George Rose/Getty Images SpaceX launched its first large batch of Starlink satellites in May 2019, sending 60 internet-beaming spacecraft into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
2019: Starship reveal
SpaceX revealed the Starship vehicle design in 2019. SpaceX In September 2019, Musk first revealed a towering stainless-steel Starship prototype in Boca Chica, Texas. Starship, paired with its Super Heavy booster, was designed to be a fully reusable transportation system.
SpaceX hopes the vehicle is capable of carrying people and cargo to orbit, the moon, Mars, and beyond.
2020: First crewed launch
Doug Hurley (left) and Bob Behnken (right) were the first two humans to crew a SpaceX flight. Joe Raedle/Getty Images SpaceX hurled NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station in May 2020, marking the first time the company had sent people to orbit.
The Demo-2 mission also restored NASA's ability to launch astronauts from US soil for the first time since the space shuttle retired in 2011.
2021: First private SpaceX customers go to space
Inspiration4 crew member Sian Proctor waves to a crowd from inside a Tesla Model Z. She joined Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, and Chris Sembroski on board SpaceX's first civilian flight to space. Joe Raedle/Getty Images In September 2021, SpaceX launched Inspiration4, a three-day orbital mission crewed entirely by private citizens. Billionaire Jared Isaacman (now the NASA administrator) commanded the flight, joined by Sian Proctor, Hayley Arceneaux, and Chris Sembroski aboard a Crew Dragon capsule.
The mission circled Earth. You can watch their journey in the Netflix documentary "Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space."
2024: Move to Texas
Musk said in 2024 that SpaceX would move its headquarters from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas. Reginald Mathalone/NurPhoto via Getty Images Musk, increasingly frustrated with California politics, moved his rocket company to Texas in 2024.
The announcement underscored how central South Texas had become to SpaceX's future. What began as a remote testing ground for Starship had grown into the company's main hub, with launch towers, production facilities, and a rapidly expanding local footprint.
2024: Starship booster catch
SpaceX made history by returning the Heavy Booster to its launch site. It was caught by a series of metal arms called "chopsticks." SpaceX/Getty Images In one of SpaceX's most audacious moves yet, the company caught a returning Super Heavy booster with the launch tower's mechanical arms for the first time in October 2024.
Seriously, watch the video for this moment — it's worth it.
BREAKING: SpaceX just successfully caught its Starship Super Heavy rocket booster in mid-air for the third time!
They parallel parked a building! pic.twitter.com/TyhTS9p6td
In February 2026, SpaceX acquired Musk's AI startup xAI, tying the rocket company more closely to another piece of Musk's business empire. credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images Earlier this year, SpaceX acquired xAI, Musk's artificial-intelligence startup. The move folded several major pieces of his business empire — also including X, formerly known as Twitter — into the rocket company.
May 2026: Starship's first V3 test flight
Starship V3, the world's most powerful rocket, took off from Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images SpaceX launched Starship Flight 12, the upgraded version of its Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster, from Starbase, Texas, on May 22, 2026. The test marked the first test flight of the company's V3 vehicles and Raptor 3 engines. SpaceX describes Starship as the world's most powerful launch vehicle ever developed.
The flight showed SpaceX was continuing to push toward a fully reusable giant rocket system. The Starship upper stage reached space and completed a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
Still, the flight had problems. The Federal Aviation Administration required SpaceX to conduct a mishap investigation after an issue involving the Super Heavy booster during its return over the Gulf of Mexico after stage separation. A return to flight depends on the FAA determining that any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety. The FAA said there were no reports of public injury or damage to public property.
June 2026: SpaceX IPO
SpaceX went public on June 12, 2026. Brendan McDermid/Reuters The once-nearly bankrupt SpaceX hit the public market with a valuation of $1.8 trillion.
"It is certainly hard to believe that a little company that started in a warehouse in El Segundo is now going public with the largest IPO ever," he said during a speech on Friday. "If people had told me this was going to happen, I was like, 'Man, you must be smoking some really good crack, because I think this company is going to fail.'"
He said he gave SpaceX a less than 10% chance of succeeding.
“It is certainly hard to believe that a little company that started in a warehouse in El Segundo is now going public with the largest IPO ever.”
Only in America. Congratulations to @elonmusk @SpaceX. This is the American Dream 🇺🇸💪🚀 pic.twitter.com/YFytt6Ajtk
— Katherine Boyle (@KTmBoyle) June 12, 2026
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Ben Shimkus is a reporter for the Business News desk. He writes about cars, transportation, retail, and jobs. Ben's reporting has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Verge, Automotive News, USA Today, AutoBody News, LGBTQ Nation, TopSpeed, and Out Magazine. He's also held staff writing positions at The U.S. Sun and the Daily Mail. He graduated from NYU with a Master's in journalism in 2024. Email Ben at [email protected] or message him privately on Signal at bshimkus.41.
ToplineThe investment case for the SpaceX potentially extends far beyond rockets. Although the company is best known for its Falcon 9 orbital and Starship experimental heavy-lift reusable rockets, its Starlink megaconstellation already numbers more than 10,000 satellites, while future plans could include orbital AI data centers and even space-based solar power systems. Yet if those ambitions are realized, they could trigger one of the biggest changes ever made to humanity’s view of the heavens — as well as to astronomy, navigation, migration, feeding and reproduction across hundreds of species, according to Dark Sky.
The satellite-filled sky that is now a reality — and getting more crowded every week! (Photo by: Alan Dyer/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Key FactsSpaceX currently operates more than 10,000 active Starlink satellites, roughly two-thirds of all working satellites in orbit. Amazon Leo, its competitor, has 300 satellites in orbit and plans to launch 3,200, according to Space.com.
In January, SpaceX filed documents asking the Federal Communications Commission for permission to launch one million satellites to create a megaconstellation of orbital data centers to meet the demand for AI computing power.
Research has found that satellites and other orbiting objects could increase the overall brightness of the night sky by more than 10% above natural levels. That means each image taken by a billion-dollar professional telescope would lose 10% of data due to satellite trails, an issue identified by reports from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.
The Night Sky Is Becoming More CrowdedWhen SpaceX launched the first Starlink satellites in 2019, astronomers raised concerns about bright streaks crossing telescope images. Since then, the constellation has grown into the largest satellite network ever deployed. Today, SpaceX operates more than 10,000 Starlink satellites, accounting for roughly two-thirds of all active spacecraft orbiting Earth. The company plans to expand it to around 34,400 satellites. For investors, that growth demonstrates the success of Starlink as a global communications network serving more than 10 million customers. For astronomers, it marks the beginning of a new era in which commercial infrastructure increasingly occupies the night sky.
From Broadband To Orbital InfrastructureThe investment case for SpaceX increasingly depends on what comes after Starlink. Supporters argue that Starship — which successfully completed its 12th flight on May 22 after being grounded for seven months — could dramatically reduce the cost of reaching orbit, making entirely new industries possible. Among the concepts now being discussed are orbital data centers designed to support artificial intelligence and large-scale space-based power systems.
Earlier this year, SpaceX sought permission to deploy a constellation that could eventually support orbital AI computing infrastructure on an unprecedented scale. SpaceX filed documents asking the Federal Communications Commission for permission to launch a million satellites to create a solar-powered AI data center, something also being considered by Google, Axiom Space and Starcloud. Satellites look set to change from being communications tools to infrastructure. Separately, Reflect Orbital revealed plans to reflect solar rays to Earth at night using 50,000 mirrors.
This long-exposure image shows a trail of a group of SpaceX's Starlink satellites passing over Uruguay as seen from the countryside some 185 km north of Montevideo near Capilla del Sauce, Florida Department, on February 7, 2021. (Photo by MARIANA SUAREZ/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Why Astronomers Are AlarmedIn March, the U.K.’s Royal Astronomical Society warned that SpaceX’s orbital data center plans and the Reflect Orbital concept could have profound consequences for astronomy.
According to the society, brightness estimates suggest that thousands of satellites could become visible to the naked eye, outnumbering the stars visible from many locations on Earth. The group also warned that observations with major facilities could lose significant amounts of scientific data because of satellite trails.
However, it’s radio astronomy that will suffer the most. Radio observatories designed to detect extremely faint signals from deep space now have to cope with interference from large satellite constellations.
Reflect Orbital’s plans also alarmed the Royal Astronomical Society, which said each beam could be four times brighter than the full moon, with the overall system potentially making the night sky three to four times brighter.
A New Kind Of Light PollutionFor most of human history, the stars were among the few truly universal sights on Earth. The spread of electric lighting in the twentieth century dramatically reduced access to dark skies, but its effects remained largely local.
Orbital infrastructure is different. Since satellites operate above national borders, their effects are potentially global. Unlike ground-based light pollution, they cannot be avoided simply by moving to a darker location. Dark skies will go extinct.
“These proposals would not only have a disastrous impact on the science of astronomy, they would also hinder the right of everybody on Earth to enjoy the night sky. That is unacceptable,” said Dr. Robert Massey, Deputy Executive Director of the Royal Astronomical Society. “The stars above us are a valued part of human heritage – deploying more than one million exceptionally bright satellites would utterly destroy this and permanently scar the natural landscape.”
Further ReadingForbesInside SpaceX’s Orbital Economy: AI Data Centers And Wireless PowerBy Jamie CarterForbesSpaceX IPO Is A $1.77 Trillion Bet On An Orbital EconomyBy Jamie CarterForbesWhy Is SpaceX Launching History’s Biggest Rocket During A Fuel Crisis?By Jamie CarterForbesNASA Changes Moon Plan: Landing Now Depends On SpaceX Or Blue OriginBy Jamie CarterForbesSpaceX Space Junk Could Crash Into The Moon In August, Scientist SaysBy Jamie CarterForbesNASA Picks Bezos’ Blue Origin Over SpaceX For Key Moon Base MissionBy Jamie Carter
SummaryCompaniesMarkets love nifty labels, lately focusing on the Magnificent 7 tech stocksThe rise of SpaceX and a pair of upcoming AI IPOs could prompt a changeInvestors and analysts say shorthand is valuable as a gauge of market leadershipJune 13 (Reuters) - SpaceX (SPCX.O), opens new tab roared into markets this past week with a valuation of more than $2 trillion, surpassing two members of Wall Street's "Magnificent Seven" and raising a key question: Does the Mag 7 name still fit? And if not, what should replace it?
The IPO, the biggest in U.S. history, vaulted SpaceX's value above two Mag 7 members: CEO Elon Musk's other company, Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab, and Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab. With trillion-dollar contenders such as OpenAI and Anthropic waiting in the IPO wings, the club may soon need a name change, analysts said.
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With SpaceX's arrival, "it becomes very hard to keep using Mag 7 as the clean shorthand for market leadership because one of the most important companies in the world would immediately be outside the label," said Shay Boloor, chief market strategist at Futurum Equities.
These groupings are not formal market categories, but shorthand labels coined by strategists, investors and the media to capture the hottest big stocks at a given moment. Such monikers have a long history, ranging from the "Nifty 50" of the 1960s and 1970s to the "Four Horsemen" of the late 1990s dot-com boom.
The SpaceX IPO has set off a race to devise the next cool acronym.
One sobriquet gaining traction on X is "MANGOS", which stands for Meta, Anthropic, Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab, Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, OpenAI and SpaceX. That grouping is far from standardized, with some interpreting the "A" as Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab, currently the third most-valuable U.S.-listed firm.
"We are already referring to it internally and the industry is picking up on it as well," said Aga Kuplinska, SVP of product development at Tidal Financial Group, which helps asset managers roll out ETFs.
Dan Boardman-Weston, CEO at BRI Wealth Management, is going another way, suggesting "Magna Atoms" - the Magnificent Seven plus SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic.
A line chart with the title 'The Magnificent Seven versus the market'THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN RIDEThe "Magnificent Seven" term was coined by BofA Global Research Chief Investment Strategist Michael Hartnett in late 2023 to describe seven heavyweight technology-related stocks: Nvidia, Apple, Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab, Alphabet, Meta, Tesla and Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab.
With an AI boom driving stock markets to record highs and the sudden appearance of new trillion-dollar companies, the leaderboard is often in a state of flux.
In a May 22 note, BofA wrote about the "AI Big 10," adding Broadcom (AVGO.O), opens new tab, Micron Technology (MU.O), opens new tab and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), opens new tab to the original seven, reflecting the semiconductor rally of the past year. That group accounts for more than 40% of the S&P 500's weight, according to LSEG data.
The labels have evolved before - from FANG to FAANG to the Magnificent Seven - each tracking shifts in companies that led the market.
FANG covered Facebook, Amazon, Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab and Google. FAANG added Apple, and Magnificent Seven dropped Netflix while adding Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla, each shift reflecting changes at the top of the market.
"It's been Mag 7 for several years now. Maybe the markets are excited for something new," said Dustin Thackeray, chief investment officer at Crewe Advisors.
To be sure, not everyone expects the old label to ride off into the sunset.
"The Magnificent Seven label is not going away," said Dave Mazza, CEO of Roundhill Investments. "It is too embedded in how investors and the media view large-cap tech leadership. What you will likely see is additive terminology rather than replacement."
Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan, Purvi Agarwal, Twesha Dikshit and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Sweta Singh, Colin Barr, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and David Gaffen
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Macro economist Henrik Zeberg has warned that SpaceX’s (NASDAQ: SPCX) valuation following its record-breaking IPO has reached levels comparable to the peak of the Dot-com bubble.
The warning comes after SpaceX completed the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history, raising $75 billion by pricing shares at $135. The stock opened at $150, pushing the company’s market capitalization above $1.77 trillion and reportedly nearing or surpassing $2 trillion during early trading.
At the close of markets on Friday, SPCX was trading at $160, up almost 20% for the day
SpaceX stock price chart. Source: Google Finance According to Zeberg’s analysis, shared in an X post on June 13, SpaceX is trading at approximately 119 times projected 2026 sales, surpassing the peak valuation multiple reached by Yahoo during the dot-com boom in 2000.
The comparison centers on the price-to-sales ratio, a metric used to measure how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of revenue.
Zeberg’s analysis shows SpaceX trading at roughly 119 times estimated 2026 sales, slightly above Yahoo’s peak multiple of about 118 times sales before the dot-com bubble burst.
SpaceX stretched compared to peers The analysis also highlights how far SpaceX’s valuation has stretched relative to other technology companies. Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) trades at about 63 times sales, while Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) trades at roughly 20 times sales, making SpaceX the most highly valued company in the group on a price-to-sales basis.
The SpaceX IPO marks a dramatic increase in valuation for the aerospace and satellite communications company. Before going public, SpaceX’s private-market valuation had already climbed from approximately $350 billion in late 2024 to significantly higher levels through subsequent funding rounds.
The company’s rapid rise has been driven by continued growth in its reusable rocket business, the Starlink satellite internet network, and expansion into related technologies.
The Dot-com bubble of the late 1990s was marked by investors assigning extreme valuations to high-growth technology companies based on future growth expectations rather than traditional financial metrics.
Many internet firms reached unsustainable price-to-sales and price-to-earnings ratios before the bubble burst, resulting in steep declines in market value. Several prominent companies lost more than 90% of their valuations during the subsequent crash.
Zeberg argued that SpaceX’s current valuation reflects a similar level of investor enthusiasm. Although the company has generated substantial business growth and trailing revenue of approximately $18 billion to $19 billion, its current market capitalization implies exceptionally high expectations for future expansion.
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SummaryCompaniesSpaceX allocated a record 20% of IPO shares for retail investorsRetail demand drove strong first-day trading, with SpaceX topping retail purchase rankingsMany retail investors received fewer shares than requested but expressed satisfaction and loyaltyNEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) - Individual investors eager for a piece of SpaceX's (SPCX.O), opens new tabmega IPO on Friday scrutinized their e-mail inboxes and brokerage accounts to see just how big a slice of the pie they received - while others went straight to the open market to scoop them up on day one.
From the start, SpaceX and its underwriters had determined to set aside as much as 30% of the shares sold to the public in the IPO for retail investors. That meant that whipping up interest and buying orders from this group was crucial. Getting an allocation to the stock was competitive, and some retail investors just dived into the market to buy.
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"I'm very happy with what I managed to get," said Joseph Gutheinz, who retired from NASA as an investigator to practice law. Gutheinz did not think of trying to submit an IPO allocation request but managed to buy $100,000 of shares at $161 on Friday.
"It's a great investment," he said. "Win or lose, I'm happy to be invested at all."
Retail buying was one of the factors responsible for the pop in the price of SpaceX shares, which surged 19% on their first day of trading, said Art Hogan, investment strategist at B. Riley Wealth in Boston.
"This allocation to retail is far and away the highest I've ever seen in my decades on Wall Street," Hogan said. "It's the latest, greatest shiny object for retail investors to get into right now."
The deal became "the largest and most subscribed offering on our platform to date," said a spokesman for SoFi, one of the retail brokerages involved in the selling group. The spokesman added that all individuals who met SoFi's criteria received an allocation of the deal.
Net buying of SpaceX shares accounted for about 4% of all single-stock retail turnover on Friday, totaling $453 million and running at 3.5 times the pace of runner-up Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab.
"Retail investors have shown up for SpaceX in a big way," said Vanda Research, a firm that tracks the activity of self-directed individual investors and that spent much of Friday monitoring trading in the high-profile IPO. In the first 20 minutes of trading, SpaceX shares had vaulted to second place in the ranks of most actively purchased stocks by retail investors and by mid-afternoon was in first place, dwarfing its rivals, Vanda reported.
ALLOCATIONS FALL SHORTAllocations, however, for some retail investors fell short of what they sought.
"Requested 250, received nothing," one of the rare disgruntled would-be investors reported on a Reddit chat devoted to figuring out who had received allocations. "Requested 555, got 10" and "requested 1,000, got 85," other Reddit posters noted.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk, whom the IPO has made the world's first trillionaire, pledged in 2024 that if any of his still-private companies went public in the future, he intended to make sure that retail investors, especially holders of his other public company, Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab, would have priority in accessing the new deal.
"Loyalty deserves loyalty," he said in a post on X at the time.
Already, some fans of Musk and SpaceX are providing further signs of their commitment and conviction.
Clint Sorenson, chief investment officer of Ascentis Asset Management, told Reuters he offered all of his firm's clients who had invested in SpaceX via private investment vehicles before the IPO the opportunity to hedge their exposure to the stock now that it is publicly traded. No one took him up on the idea, he said.
"Everyone wants to keep holding and celebrating right now; no one wants to even think of hedging their risk because they believe in the story so much," Sorenson said.
Reporting by Suzanne McGee in Providence, Rhode Island, Manya Saini, Akash Sriram and Laura Matthews in New York; Additional reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and Tatiana Bautzer in New York; Editing by Megan Davies and William Mallard
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Akash reports on technology companies in the United States, electric vehicle companies, and the space industry. His reporting usually appears in the Autos & Transportation and Technology sections. He has a postgraduate degree in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds. Akash's interests include music, football (soccer), and Formula 1.
Manya covers the most influential U.S. financial institutions, from Wall Street’s largest banks and card networks to leading asset managers and fintech companies. She also reports on late-stage venture capital fundraises, initial public offerings on U.S. exchanges and regulatory developments shaping the cryptocurrency industry. Her work appears across the finance, markets, business and future of money sections of the Reuters website. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Delhi and a master’s in journalism from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication.
MIAMI, June 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Defiance ETFs, a leader in thematic and leveraged exchange-traded funds, today announced that trading in shares of the Defiance Daily 2X Space ETF (Cboe BZX: SPCL) was temporarily halted by Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (the “Exchange”).
Trading was temporarily halted at 10:45 A.M. EDT today.
SPCL’s trading halt was the result of the Exchange exercising its broad discretionary authority to halt trading in a listed ETF, as authorized by Exchange rules. According to the Exchange, it currently anticipates lifting the temporary halt of trading in SPCL shares and resuming trading no earlier than Monday, June 15, 2026.
During this temporary halt, investors are advised that while shares of SPCL cannot be bought or sold on the secondary market, the underlying portfolio assets remain secure and are not impacted by this temporary halt of trading initiated by the Exchange.
Defiance ETFs believes the temporary halt of trading in SPCL shares was in response to today’s significant market price volatility surrounding SpaceX’s completion of its initial public offering, and the commencement of trading in shares of SpaceX Class A common stock on Nasdaq (NASDAQ: SPCX).
Defiance ETFs will issue an update as soon as the Exchange authorizes the resumption of trading in shares of SPCL. For real-time updates on the status of SPCL, please monitor the Exchange’s Issuer Portal (SPCL) or contact your financial advisor.
For full fund details, the prospectus, holdings, and performance current to the most recent month-end, visit defianceetfs.com/spcl or call 833.333.9383.
An investment in SPCL is not a direct investment in the underlying securities. The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund is designed to be utilized only by knowledgeable investors who understand the potential consequences of seeking daily leveraged (2X) investment results, understand the risks associated with the use of leverage, and are willing to monitor their portfolios frequently. The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. The Fund pursues daily leveraged investment objectives, which means it is riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage. The Fund magnifies the performance of the Target Portfolio and is designed strictly for short-term use. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund’s performance will be the result of compounded daily returns, which is very likely to differ from 200% of the return of the Target Portfolio over the same period. It is possible that investors could lose their entire principal within a single trading day.
Important Disclosures
Defiance ETFs LLC is the ETF sponsor. The Fund’s investment adviser is Tidal Investments LLC (“Tidal” or the “Adviser”).
The Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other important information and can be obtained by calling 833.333.9383 or by visiting defianceetfs.com/spcl. Please read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing.
An investment in the Fund involves a high degree of risk. An investor could lose the full principal value of his or her investment within a single day.
Strategy and Reconstitution Risk. The Fund is actively managed and, per its recently amended Prospectus, may reconstitute its portfolio to consist of exposure to a single Space Company security in response to a “Material Space Event” – defined to include an initial public offering of a company, such as SpaceX, which the Adviser determines to be a significant participant in the space economy. SpaceX’s IPO, a Material Space Event, will result in the Fund holding all or a predominant portion of its portfolio in instruments providing exposure to SpaceX shares, subjecting existing and future Shareholders to a substantially more concentrated and potentially more volatile investment portfolio due to such an event. Fund investment results following a reconstitution in response to a Material Space Event may differ materially from prior results and the Fund may as a result temporarily deviate from its daily targeted exposure level. The Fund’s prospectus does not require the Adviser to provide advance notice before a reconstitution; however, the Fund’s Target Portfolio is published daily on its website at www.defianceetfs.com/spcl.
An investment in the Fund is not an investment in SpaceX. The Fund seeks to obtain exposure to SpaceX Class A common stock, and to other Space Company securities, through derivatives, not by holding the underlying securities directly. Fund holdings are subject to change at any time and should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
Focused Portfolio and Concentration Risk. The Fund may seek exposure to one or a limited number of Space Company securities, including SpaceX. Given the Fund’s exposure is concentrated in a one or a limited number of underlying stocks, such as SpaceX, the Fund is subject to the price movements, business results, regulatory developments, and other risks specific to SpaceX or other Space Companies. The Fund is significantly less diversified than traditional ETFs, and its performance is more volatile than a fund seeking exposure to a broader market sector or seeking to track a broad-based securities index.
Leverage, Compounding and Daily Reset Risk. The Fund seeks daily investment results equal to 200% of the daily performance of a Target Portfolio consisting of one or a limited number of Space Company securities, which may include or consistent entirely of SpaceX Class A common stock due to the Material Space Event. The Fund obtains exposure in excess of its net assets through leverage, which magnifies both gains and losses. The Fund’s returns over periods longer than a single day will likely differ, in amount and possibly direction, from its stated daily target. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if its Target Portfolio performance is flat, and it is possible that the Fund will lose money even if its Target Portfolio’s performance increases. The Fund is intended for short-term use and is not appropriate for investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios.
Newly Public Company Risk. SpaceX has recently completed, or is in the process of completing, its initial public offering. The first day of trading in a newly public company’s securities frequently involves extraordinary market activity and may differ significantly from subsequent trading days. For example, trading in SpaceX common stock may be characterized by substantial price volatility, rapid price movements, significant differences between the IPO price and the opening market price, wide bid-ask spreads, trading imbalances, limited liquidity, trading halts, and other market disruptions. These conditions may make it difficult for market participants to value SpaceX common stock and may contribute to significant fluctuations in the market price of the Fund’s Shares.
SpaceX-Specific Risks. The Fund’s exposure to SpaceX stock will subject it to risks specific to SpaceX, including its expected status as a controlled company with voting power concentrated in founder Elon Musk through Class B common stock (10 votes per share), the Fund’s dependence on Mr. Musk’s services and reputation, and the execution risk associated with unproven or novel technologies such as the Starship program, next-generation Starlink satellites, and orbital AI initiatives.
Initial Trading Day IPO Exposure Risk. The Fund expects to seek exposure to the performance of SpaceX common stock measured from the opening market price of SpaceX common stock on its first day of exchange trading. The Fund will not seek to provide exposure to the difference between the IPO offering price and the opening market price of SpaceX common stock. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to obtain, maintain, or rebalance its desired level of exposure to the performance of SpaceX common stock during its in initial day of trading.
Derivatives Capacity Constraints Risk. Because SpaceX will be a newly public company, the markets for swap agreements, options contracts, and other instruments that the Fund may use to obtain leveraged exposure may be limited, illiquid, volatile, costly, or unavailable. Counterparties may impose exposure limits, exchanges may impose position limits or other restrictions, and market participants may be unwilling or unable to provide the Fund with the desired level of exposure. These constraints may increase tracking error, cause the Fund to return substantially less than its desired daily leveraged exposure to the performance of SpaceX stock, or prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. These risks may be particularly pronounced during the period immediately following an IPO, when trading volumes, liquidity conditions, derivatives availability, counterparty capacity, price discovery, and market volatility may be highly uncertain.
Derivatives and Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund uses swap agreements and/or listed options contracts to obtain economic exposure to its Target Portfolio securities, which are subject to counterparty, liquidity, valuation, correlation, and leverage risks, as well as the risk that a derivative will not perform as expected. The Fund is classified as non-diversified and may invest a larger portion of its assets providing exposure to a single issuer.
Tax Risk. The Fund’s use of swaps and other derivatives may produce taxable income, including ordinary income and short-term capital gains, which are generally taxable at higher rates than long-term capital gains.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. Fund holdings and exposures are subject to change at any time and should not be considered recommendations to buy or sell any security.
Defiance Daily 2X Space ETF is distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.
About Defiance ETFs
Founded in 2018, Defiance is a leading ETF issuer specializing in thematic, income, and leveraged ETFs. Our first-mover leveraged single-stock ETFs empower investors to take amplified positions in high-growth companies, providing precise leverage exposure without the need to open a margin account.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e7d44c46-c91a-4fa4-9361-fe178f1ad310
Defiance ETFs Announces Temporary Trading Halt of the Defiance Daily 2X Space ETF (SPCL) on Cboe BZX... Defiance ETFs, a leader in thematic and leveraged exchange-traded funds, today announced that tradin...
SpaceX completed its record-breaking IPO this past week, ending its first day up 19%. Beyond the headline deal, a handful of other sizable IPOs priced, and one major issuer joined the pipeline. Two IPOs are currently scheduled to list in the week ahead, although some smaller issuers may also join the calendar throughout the week.
Shares of SpaceX (SPCX +19.17%) surged on Friday after the rocket and satellite technology leader made its stock market debut.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
An epic IPO SpaceX's initial public offering (IPO) was perhaps the most highly anticipated trading event of the year. The Elon Musk-led space exploration company sought to raise a whopping $75 billion dollars to fund its audacious growth initiatives, which include placing data centers in low Earth orbit, building a city on the Moon, and, eventually, establishing a colony on Mars.
To raise that hefty sum, SpaceX sold more than 555 million shares of its stock to investors at an IPO price of $135 per share. Yet demand for the space titan's stock was through the roof, vastly exceeding supply.
SpaceX's stock price, in turn, opened at $150 per share when it debuted on the Nasdaq on Friday. It quickly rose as high as $176.52 before ending the trading day at $160.95. That closing price placed its market capitalization at a stunning $2.1 trillion.
Investors should brace for volatility While SpaceX's long-term plans are straight out of a sci-fi movie, its near-term goals will also require impressive technological execution. The space explorer intends to expand its popular Starlink satellite-based internet service, advance its aggressive rocket development timelines, and further its artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure build-out.
In the coming days and weeks, shareholders should expect SpaceX's stock price to move violently in both directions, as investors react to what are likely to be breathtaking successes and heartbreaking failures as we embark on this space odyssey.
Longer term, SpaceX could reach unimaginable heights if it can fulfill its awesome growth potential.
Joe Tenebruso has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Nasdaq. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
SpaceX opened at $150 per share in its Nasdaq debut on Friday, making Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire and vaulting the company past a $2 trillion market capitalization. Here's how experts are reacting to one of the most historic IPOs in market history.
The time has finally come. On Friday, Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX +19.17%) -- popularly known as SpaceX -- hit the Nasdaq. While the offering price remained fixed at $135 per share, shares had popped by 25% to about $175 as of 2:30 p.m. ET on the initial public offering (IPO) day. It closed the session at $160.95.
At this point, SpaceX's market capitalization is about $2.1 trillion -- making it one of the most valuable companies in the world. Clearly, retail and institutional investors alike rushed in with overwhelming enthusiasm once the stock hit the public exchanges.
Candidly, this kind of momentum is not uncommon for hot IPO stocks. In SpaceX's case, the day-one surge reflected broad confidence in the company's leadership across space exploration, satellite networks, and the emerging artificial intelligence (AI) business.
The question smart investors are asking is whether or not SpaceX stock can maintain its premium valuation. History offers a strikingly clear answer.
Why do IPO stocks pop when they first start trading? When it comes to IPOs, investors can be particularly eager to secure early positions in what they perceive as a category-defining business. A double-digit percentage opening-day gain is a strong signal that demand significantly exceeded the volume available shares at the offering price.
Strong debuts frequently occur with innovative, high-profile companies that capture public imagination. SpaceX has done that in spades. Yet smart investors understand that early momentum does not always translate into smooth sailing down the road. Rather, extreme valuation expansion often creates elevated expectations that amplify volatility.
These patterns underscore how IPO pricing and early trading behavior serve as real-time gauges of collective optimism as opposed to reliable evidence of a company's sustained value creation.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
A look at IPO stocks after one year of trading Brad Gerstner is one of the most lauded investors in Silicon Valley. He's been an early backer of numerous unicorns in the tech space -- most recently, leading Anthropic's $65 billion Series H financing round. Gerstner's firm, Altimeter, recently published an insightful graphic that illustrates the returns of high-profile IPO stocks during different periods after they listed. Historical records of public listings comparable to SpaceX's paint a mixed picture.
Across the 30 companies in Altimeter's report, the median 12-month return was negative 9% while the average return was 14%. Less than half of the stocks in the cohort generated a positive return one year after going public.
This distribution highlights that gains tend to cluster among a smaller number of standout businesses. Perhaps even more telling is the year-one maximum drawdown data, which captures the deepest interim declines from peak prices. Most companies on the list experienced drawdowns of at least 40%, with the median and average drops both hovering around 55%.
Some specific cases highlight the range of outcomes. Palantir Technologies delivered a jaw-dropping 153% return at the 12-month mark, yet suffered a 53% drawdown at one point during that year. More recently, CoreWeave generated an 87% gain, but along the way endured a 65% decline.
By contrast, when Facebook (now Meta Platforms) went public in 2012, the stock declined by 31% over its first 12 months of trading and had a 54% maximum drawdown. Meanwhile, Uber fell 21%, with a drop of 68% at one point.
Taken together, these examples demonstrate that one-year performance post-IPO often varies widely, and that the most consistent feature of such stocks is volatility.
While nobody can say for certain where SpaceX stock will be trading next summer, applying the patterns explored above suggests its trajectory will likely combine meaningful upside potential with substantial interim swings likely to occur between earnings reports.
Given the company's innovative profile and the strong share demand, SpaceX could behave more like long-term outperformers such as Palantir, Meta, or CrowdStrike.
At the same time, the whole data set clearly indicates that nearly all comparable IPOs experience meaningful drawdowns from their peak prices within the first year of trading. With that in mind, smart investors should anticipate periods of sharp reversals even if the longer-term direction remains positive.
With only a small minority of recent high-profile tech IPOs in positive territory after one year of trading, the prudent outlook should center on volatility rather than steady, linear appreciation. Fundamentals, execution on key projects -- especially in AI -- and broader macro conditions will ultimately shape SpaceX's outcome. Above all else, history shows that a strong debut alone does not shield any stock from meaningful corrections along the way.
SpaceX employees react to companys IPO Employees at SpaceXs facility in Hawthorne, California, share their thoughts on the companys initial public offering. (Splash News for Fox News Digital)
SpaceX's record-setting IPO is creating a financial windfall for thousands of the company's current and former employees who received stock as part of their compensation.
Workers who hold stock in non-public companies are subject to restrictions that can keep them from selling those shares under most circumstances before an IPO occurs. Once the stock goes public, it starts a timeline under which they can begin to sell some of those shares as so-called "lock-up periods" gradually allow employees to sell shares in tranches that expand over time.
The ranks of SpaceX workers who will see an influx of wealth as a result of the IPO include not only those who design the rockets and satellites that have made the company famous, but also baristas, janitors and other workers who helped keep the company running.
FOX Business spoke with workers outside of SpaceX's facility in Hawthorne, California, about their plans for the monumental IPO turning into a reality.
SPACEX MAKES HISTORIC DEBUT; MUSK SOLIDIFIES STATUS AS WORLD'S FIRST TRILLIONAIRE
SpaceX workers and former employees who received stock options have an opportunity to cash in a windfall following the company's IPO. (Reuters/Veronica G. Cardenas/File Photo)
One SpaceX employee, who said that he's a process planner, said that he wants to "try to stay healthy" and that the IPO is "a beautiful thing… I mean, Elon is the best. Go Elon!"
Another SpaceX employee said that, "I've been a millionaire for a while, but it's always nice to have money. It'll be great when the lock-up period is out, of course, and we can actually sell some of it and that'll feel a little more into the wealth, but it's a great day."
Juan Hernandez, who previously worked as a welder at SpaceX, told CBS News that when he was first hired by the company in 2015 he was offered $10,000 in stock. He explained that it "wasn't a big deal" to him at the time and, "I didn't know it was gonna be this big, at this point."
Ticker Security Last Change Change % SPCX SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP. 160.95 +25.95 +19.22% Hernandez, who now works at Blue Origin after a 10-year stint at SpaceX, told CBS that he has around 6,500 SpaceX shares that would represent a nearly $880,000 windfall based on the IPO listing price of $135 a share. He added that giving employees stock options encourages them to "perform a lot better because, I mean… it's their company as well."
He went on to tell the outlet that he wants to maintain a strong work ethic after the IPO and plans to keep working, and expressed gratitude to Musk for "making all these lives much better and meaningful for their families as well."
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire following the IPO. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)
SPACEX SET A NEW RECORD FOR IPOS: THESE ARE THE WORLD'S 5 LARGEST
The Wall Street Journal reported that J. André Lavoie, a 63-year-old former SpaceX engineer who moved to Italy five years ago, has shares valued at over $28 million based on the IPO price. Lavoie plans to use the funds to renovate a hotel he purchased and is considering helping others in the community transition from heating their homes with burning wood to cleaner heating sources.
"I don't want to just die with a pile of money in the bank," Lavoie told the Journal. He added that the rise in the value of the shares has caused him to reconsider his plans. "Every year the shares have been going up so radically it keeps messing up my life plans."
The Journal also spoke with 27-year-old Maryellen Musselman, who joined SpaceX in 2022 and worked on a ship used in retrieving rocket parts from the company's launches that splashed down off the coast of Florida.
Musselman used 10% of her pay to purchase additional shares during the two years she worked at SpaceX and said that while she's unsure of how quickly she'll look to sell, saying it'll likely be "an 11th-hour decision."
SpaceX's IPO was the largest in history, with a raise of about $75 billion. (Joe Skipper/Reuters)
SPACEX'S FIRST EMPLOYEE SAYS HISTORIC $1.7T IPO WILL BE 'LIFE-CHANGING' FOR THOUSANDS OF WORKERS
She wants to use the money to help her start a ship repair business in Chesapeake, Virginia, saying that, "Mariners are not usually stock owners in their companies, they're not always under benefits."
Tom Mueller, who was hired as SpaceX's first employee in 2002 and led projects including the Merlin Engine that powers the Falcon 9 rocket, the Raptor Engine that powers Starship and other key propulsion systems, told FOX Business' "The Claman Countdown" on Thursday that the IPO would be life-changing for employees.
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"Elon always said that 'Your salary is one thing, but it's the equity that's gonna be worth something.' And we are all like, 'Yeah, okay someday,'" Mueller said. "That day is here. It's great."
There were a lot of ways that SpaceX's initial public offering could have gone wrong. Instead, the company bucked Wall Street norms, pulled off the biggest IPO ever and raised $75 billion, according to a regulatory filing, while orchestrating a successful first day as a publicly traded company.
What are investors really buying when they buy SpaceX? Julie Hyman, Brian Sozzi, and Justus Parmar discuss the future of the space economy, Mars colonization, Rocket Lab, AI, and the long-term vision behind SpaceX.
The SpaceX initial public offering was expected to deliver the kind of drama usually reserved for a summer thriller. Instead, it proved to be something far more disappointing: rather ordinary.
A collective sigh of relief swept across Wall Street after trading for SpaceX's landmark Nasdaq launch went smoothly, setting a new template for the trading firms and exchanges that are bracing for the giant IPOs of OpenAI and Anthropic later this year.
The whirlwind Day One of public trading of SpaceX (SPCX +19.17%) shares has come to a close. If you like edge-of-your-seat excitement with lots of twists and turns, it was about as thrilling a day as you could ask for.
If you like big share price gains, it was more of a mixed bag.
Here's how Day One investors fared on the first trading day of SpaceX stock.
Image source: Getty Images.
IPO investors cashed in SpaceX offered an unprecedented amount of IPO shares to retail investors. More than 20% of the IPO shares were ultimately allocated to non-professional investors through five brokerages, priced at $135/share. With over $100 billion in demand, however, many investors only received a fraction of the shares they requested.
However, those who got ahold of them were already winners when the stock began public trading at 11:46 AM, debuting on the Nasdaq at $150/share. By 11:52 AM, about six minutes later, they had surpassed $160/share. At 11:55 AM, they briefly hit $168.75/share before dropping again. At 12:04 PM, they dropped to $155.42/share before heading back upward to peak for the day at $176.52/share at 1:10 PM.
The rest of the trading day, however, was a different story.
Later investors crashed out The share price had a slow and bumpy descent for most of the afternoon, bottoming out at $157.46/share at 3:53 PM, before rallying slightly to close at $160.95/share. That gives the company a $2.1 trillion market cap, which should make CEO Elon Musk one very happy trillionaire.
Today's Change
(
19.17
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25.88
Current Price
$
160.88
Unfortunately for most investors, if you didn't manage to luck into some IPO shares, and you didn't buy during the first few minutes SpaceX shares were publicly trading, you probably lost money today. Because after 11:52 AM, the stock only spent about 17 minutes of the trading day below its ultimate closing price (12:03 PM to 12:05 PM, and 3:40 PM to 3:55 PM). And even then, it was less than $6/share below that closing price, so gains were minimal, though the stock did rise by a few percentage points in after-hours trading.
Even though the marquee number from SpaceX's first trading day shows the stock up 19.2%, it's important to remember that only IPO investors actually notched that much of a gain. Lightning-fast market investors who picked up shares at the opening price of $150/share would be up just 7.3% for the day, and those who waited just three minutes to buy shares at 11:49 AM are only up 1%. Most other investors are in the red.
Image source: Getty Images.
Of course, we here at the Fool are long-term investors, so we know that SpaceX's day one performance won't matter much in the long run. However, it can serve as a cautionary tale that hot stocks making big upward moves on hype alone -- like meme stocks or highly anticipated IPOs -- can only move upward for so long. Buying into such a stock too late is worse than not buying in at all.
And sometimes "too late" only takes three minutes to arrive.
CNBC's Jim Cramer said the successful debut of SpaceX could pave the way for more AI-related offerings and help create a more constructive backdrop for stocks. He said investors should watch housing starts, retail sales, and an analyst meeting from SLB for clues on interest rates.
The biggest IPO in history dropped this morning on the Nasdaq — a debut so big, our team thought it deserved its own bonus Equity podcast episode. On this special bonus episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Senior Reporter Sean O'Kane called up our AI Editor Russell Brandom to help him break down the $2 trillion valuation, Elon Musk becoming the world's first trillionaire, and what it all means for Anthropic and OpenAI still waiting in the wings.
The biggest IPO in history dropped this morning on the Nasdaq — a debut so big, our team thought it deserved its own bonus Equity podcast episode.
On this special bonus episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Senior Reporter Sean O’Kane called up our AI Editor Russell Brandom to help him break down the $2 trillion valuation, Elon Musk becoming the world’s first trillionaire, and what it all means for Anthropic and OpenAI still waiting in the wings.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You can also follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
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Theresa Loconsolo is an audio producer at TechCrunch focusing on Equity, the network’s flagship podcast. Before joining TechCrunch in 2022, she was one of 2 producers at a four-station conglomerate where she wrote, recorded, voiced and edited content, and engineered live performances and interviews from guests like lovelytheband. Theresa is based in New Jersey and holds a bachelors degree in Communication from Monmouth University.
You can contact or verify outreach from Theresa by emailing [email protected].
CNBC's Jim Cramer said Friday that it's not too late for investors to buy SpaceX after its blockbuster debut— but only if they're willing to view the stock as a long-term bet on the future rather than a traditional investment.
"Is it too late to get into SpaceX?" the "Mad Money" host said. "If you're willing to look at this as a different kind of stock, not a short or even medium term investment ... then you've got my blessing."
SpaceX debuted on the Nasdaq on Friday, opening at $150 per share but surging as high as $176. Elon Musk's rocket company closed the session with a market cap of $2.1 trillion. The powerful rally quickly reignited concerns that the stock's valuation may have outrun its current financial performance. Cramer, however, said that investors are not buying SpaceX solely for what it earns today.
"This is a long-term call on space exploration," Cramer said.
Rather than focusing on current losses and cash outflows, Cramer argued that many investors are buying into Elon Musk's long-term vision and a pipeline of projects that may take years to fully materialize.
"I think they've considered the risk and recognized that there could be losses as far as the eye can see," he said.
That willingness to look beyond near-term financial results helps explain the stock's strong debut, according to Cramer. While skeptics have questioned the company's valuation, he said shareholders are focused on the possibility that SpaceX's future opportunities could be far larger than what is currently reflected in its business.
For investors who share that outlook, Cramer said pullbacks should be viewed as opportunities rather than reasons to abandon the stock.
"If it comes down, then you should buy more because the upside is conceivably unfathomable," he said.
Cramer also praised the handling of the IPO by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, saying the two leading banks on the deal struck a balance between institutional and retail demand, while avoiding the kind of chaotic first-day surge that can create problems later. Cramer's Charitable Trust, the portfolio used by the CNBC Investing Club, owns shares of Goldman.
"The stock opened at a reasonable price versus the IPO price, not so high that it would encourage flipping but not that low as to foment panic," he said. "That's amazing."
XPRIZE Foundation founder Peter Diamandis celebrates SpaceX's successful IPO debut, which made Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire, on ‘The Claman Countdown.'
