Elon Musk’s space exploration company, SpaceX, made history on Friday by going public on the Nasdaq stock exchange with an initial valuation of $1.77 trillion, marking the largest initial public offering (IPO) ever. The listing raised $7.5 billion in fresh capital, with shares priced at $135 each. Market enthusiasm pushed the stock up 19% by the close of the trading day, valuing the company at $2.1 trillion.

Musk, 54, who also owns a substantial stake in Tesla, has now become the world’s first trillionaire, with his SpaceX holding valued at approximately $690 billion and his Tesla shares worth around $280 billion. The debut represented not just a financial milestone but a symbolic moment for Musk’s vision of the future, which he described as more than a fundraising effort. "There are all these problems on Earth,” he said ahead of the opening bell, “but there also have to be things that get you excited about the future, that make you glad to wake up in the morning.”

SpaceX’s valuation relies heavily on its long-term ambitions rather than current financial performance. The company reported a loss of $4.9 billion last year against revenues of $18.7 billion. Its business model comprises three main components: a dominant rocket manufacturing division responsible for over 80% of the world's satellite deployments by mass; Starlink, which offers high-speed internet access via the world’s largest constellation of satellites; and the development of Starship, a next-generation reusable rocket designed to deliver very large payloads to orbit.

Musk asserts that Starship could cut the cost of reaching orbit by 99% or more, potentially opening new possibilities in space exploration, including orbital artificial intelligence infrastructure and Mars missions. The company projects a dramatic increase in revenue from its AI infrastructure services over the next four years.

However, these ambitions remain largely aspirational. Starship has yet to complete a successful mission delivering payloads to space, and concepts such as space-based data centers are still speculative. Despite the lofty projections—SpaceX’s prospectus cites a total addressable market of $28 trillion, roughly a fifth of the global economy—the company’s bankers have adopted an optimistic outlook fueled by Musk’s history of tackling seemingly impossible challenges.

Adeo Ressi, a longtime friend of Musk, recalled that 25 years ago, Musk faced doubts and warnings from experts about his plan to start a private rocket company. Yet Musk’s determination prevailed, setting the stage for the company’s unprecedented growth and now its landmark public offering. While Musk’s timelines have often been delayed, his resolve and vision continue to drive SpaceX’s ambition to reshape humanity’s presence beyond Earth.