Remember when SpaceX went public and everyone lost their minds? Yeah, about that.
Elon Musk’s rocket company had the kind of IPO debut that makes Wall Street traders weep into their overpriced coffee. The stock rocketed up more than 50% in its first few days, briefly making SpaceX worth more than Microsoft and Amazon *combined*. At its peak, the company was valued at $2.7 trillion—which is wild when you consider it was “only” worth $1.8 trillion on day one.
But here’s the thing about gravity: it always wins. Even for a space company.
SpaceX stock is now in free fall, dropping for four consecutive days and shedding roughly $400 billion in market value. We’re talking a 30% plunge from that dizzying $225 intraday high just last week. The stock is set to open around $150 on Tuesday, which is still above the IPO price but feels like a gut punch after the euphoria.
This isn’t just SpaceX being SpaceX, either. The broader market is having a rough go of it. The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 1.3% on Monday, with futures pointing to losses exceeding 2.5% at Tuesday’s open. It’s the kind of sell-off that makes investors question whether they got caught up in the hype machine.
To be fair, SpaceX raised an absolutely bonkers amount of cash—$85 billion total after the underwriters exercised their option to buy extra shares. That’s the largest IPO in history, so the company isn’t exactly hurting for capital. But there’s a difference between raising money and maintaining a valuation that makes sense.
The real question now is whether this is a healthy correction or the beginning of a longer slide. Market analyst Chris Beauchamp from IG put it perfectly: “As surely as night follows day, SpaceX’s reversal has arrived, bringing the shares back down to Earth and causing euphoric sentiment to sputter.” He’s not wrong. IPO pops are exciting, but they’re also often a sign that early investors are taking profits while the taking is good.
If SpaceX holds onto these losses, the company’s market cap would land around $1.96 trillion—still about $160 billion above its opening valuation. So it’s not like the company is back to square one. But it’s a stark reminder that even the most exciting companies can’t defy gravity forever.
The lesson here? IPO euphoria is real, but it’s also temporary. SpaceX is still a valuable company with real revenue and real ambitions. But the market’s willingness to value it at $2.7 trillion was probably more about FOMO than fundamentals. Welcome back to Earth, SpaceX. The view from up here was nice while it lasted.
