SpaceX raises $75bn in history's largest IPO, eyes June debut
Elon Musk's rocket company priced 555.6 million shares at $135 to raise a record $75bn. Here is what the blockbuster listing means for Indian investors and space founders.
The News
SpaceX has priced the biggest stock-market flotation the world has ever seen. The rocket and satellite company founded by Elon Musk set 555.6 million shares at $135 apiece, raising $75 billion before its shares begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX on Friday, 12 June 2026.
The size of the deal is the story. As TechCrunch reported, the listing comfortably overtakes Saudi Aramco's $24.9 billion debut in 2019. Bankers also retained an option to sell more stock that could lift total proceeds by roughly $11 billion if demand holds.
That demand looks real. The offering was reportedly around four times oversubscribed, and crypto-based prediction venues had pencilled in a first-day figure closer to $167, implying a pop of about 20 per cent. For a 24-year-old company that had already raised close to $40 billion privately, the public market is now setting the price.
Why It Matters
A $75 billion raise reorders the league table of global listings in a single afternoon. It hands SpaceX an enormous war chest just as it scales Starship test flights and pushes Starlink towards tens of millions of subscribers. Public shareholders, rather than a tight circle of venture backers, will now help fund both programmes.
It also marks a shift in how the market values capital-heavy hardware. For most of the past decade, the richest flotations rewarded software and, latterly, the firms supplying the picks and shovels of artificial intelligence. SpaceX breaks that pattern: a business built on launch vehicles, ground stations and orbital infrastructure has produced the largest debut on record. The last hardware company to command this kind of frenzy was arguably Aramco itself, and that was an oil giant selling a sliver of a sovereign asset.
Musk keeps tight control regardless of the float. His holding spans 850 million single-vote Class A shares and 5.6 billion Class B shares carrying ten votes each, leaving outside investors with economic upside but limited say.
Indian Angle
For Indian investors, the headline is tantalising but access is narrow. Residents can buy overseas-listed stock through the Reserve Bank's Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which caps annual outward remittance at $250,000, yet allocations in a four-times-oversubscribed IPO rarely reach retail buyers abroad. Most domestic mutual funds remain constrained by overseas-investment limits, so the cleanest route for Indian exposure will likely be the secondary market once SPCX trades freely.
The sharper signal is for India's own space economy. A $75 billion public benchmark gives a fresh valuation anchor to home-grown launch and satellite startups such as Skyroot Aerospace, Agnikul Cosmos, Pixxel and Dhruva Space, all courting capital under the IN-SPACe framework that opened the sector to private players. A richly valued global comparable tends to lift the ceiling for late-stage rounds, and Indian founders pitching to global funds now have a powerful reference point.
There is a competitive edge too. Starlink has been working through India's GMPCS licensing and spectrum process at the Department of Telecommunications, and a cash-rich, publicly listed parent will only sharpen its push into rural connectivity, where it rubs up against Jio and Airtel-backed OneWeb. For MeitY and telecom regulators, a better-funded Starlink raises the stakes on data localisation, security clearances and pricing.
FAQ
When does SpaceX start trading?
Shares are due to begin trading on Nasdaq on Friday, 12 June 2026, under the ticker SPCX, a day after the $135 pricing was confirmed. The first session will test whether the roughly 20 per cent premium implied by pre-market venues holds once ordinary investors can buy and sell.
How big is this compared with other IPOs?
At $75 billion raised, it is the largest initial public offering in history, eclipsing Saudi Aramco's $24.9 billion listing in 2019. An underwriter option could add about $11 billion more if exercised after the debut.
Can Indian investors buy SpaceX shares?
Resident Indians can invest in US-listed stocks through the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme, subject to the $250,000 annual cap and their broking platform's policies. An IPO allocation is unlikely; buying SPCX on the open market after listing is the realistic path.
What does it mean for Indian space startups?
It sets a high global valuation marker that can support fundraising for Skyroot, Agnikul, Pixxel and others operating under IN-SPACe, while intensifying competition as a better-funded Starlink advances its Indian licensing plans.
This story was reported by TechCrunch. Read the full original coverage at TechCrunch.