Noah Romsdal Hallundbæk Sørensen
SpaceX hits the stock market and sends Elon Musk’s fortune toward astronomical heights.
Elon Musk is already the world’s wealthiest person, but SpaceX’s stock market listing on Thursday is pushing him significantly further ahead of the rest of the field.
At the time of writing, Musk’s net worth stands at 982.6 billion dollars.
That makes him three times richer than the number two on the global wealth rankings and places him tantalisingly close to becoming the first trillionaire in history.
According to DR
From Tesla to Rocket Speed
When Elon Musk first climbed to the top of the global wealth rankings in 2021, the bulk of his fortune came from his stake in Tesla.
SpaceX was already worth many billions at the time, but it was far from the dominant entry on the balance sheet.
Since then, the picture has shifted dramatically. “Since 2021, SpaceX has risen far more in value than Tesla, and that is cemented by today’s stock market listing, which actually gives SpaceX a higher total market value than Tesla,” says DR News business correspondent Jakob Ussing.
According to him, the value of SpaceX has risen at something close to rocket speed, as the company has succeeded in reusing rockets and delivering internet from space via its Starlink satellites.
More Than Half a Billion Shares Sold
With the listing, SpaceX has managed to sell 555.6 million shares at a price of 135 dollars each.
It is this transaction that truly cements Musk’s position in a league of his own on the wealth rankings.
The business model reaches far beyond traditional rocket launches. Plans include, among other things, data centres in space powered by constant and free solar energy, which could ultimately change the way the world’s digital infrastructure operates.
A Long-Term Bet with Staggering Losses
The outlook is not without caveats, however. “While Tesla has been brought to profitability, SpaceX is still running at staggering losses month after month, and that could remain the picture for many years to come,” Musk himself has acknowledged.
Jakob Ussing concludes that an investment in SpaceX is therefore either a very long-term bet requiring belief in Musk’s ambitious plans, or a short-term speculation on the hype pushing the share price even higher. Which of those plays out in the end remains to be seen.
