SpaceX, led by CEO Elon Musk, made a historic debut on the Nasdaq last Friday, with its stock price surging over the following days and its market capitalization surpassing both Amazon and Microsoft to briefly become the world's fourth-largest publicly traded company by market value [1][2]. On Tuesday, SpaceX shares climbed as much as 15% in early trading, pushing the company's market cap beyond Amazon's $2.66 trillion and Microsoft's $2.93 trillion, reaching as high as $2.94 trillion according to NBC News, while Fox Business reported the market cap briefly topped Microsoft's value [1][2]. Since its IPO, SpaceX shares have risen between 35% and 45%, with NBC News citing a jump from $150 to over $220 per share, and Fox Business reporting a last price of $192.50, up 19.60% on the day [1][2]. The company debuted at a value of $1.77 trillion and has gained nearly $1 trillion in value since then [2].
The surge in SpaceX's stock was further fueled by the announcement that it had exercised its option to acquire Cursor, the AI coding firm behind the popular 'vibe-coding' tool, in an all-stock transaction valuing Cursor at $60 billion [1][2]. The companies had previously announced a partnership in April, with the option for SpaceX to acquire Cursor for $60 billion or pay $10 billion for their joint work [1][2]. SpaceX stated that the acquisition aims to build the world's most useful AI models, and that joint AI model training with Cursor will soon be released in Cursor and Grok Build [1].
Retail investor enthusiasm has been a significant driver of the rally, with researchers at Vanda noting that net retail purchases of SPCX over the last two sessions nearly matched retail buying across the entire US stock market last week [2]. Analysts at Bespoke Investment Group observed that the excitement around SpaceX led to a sharp sell-off in other space-related stocks, including Virgin Galactic (SPCE), EchoStar, and AST SpaceMobile, as investors rotated into SPCX [2].
Looking ahead, NBC News notes that SpaceX shares could experience increased volatility as financial exchanges begin enabling trading in SpaceX options contracts, which is expected to add further volume and trading activity [2]. Elon Musk, following the IPO, became the world's first trillionaire on paper [1].
CONCLUSION
SpaceX's record-setting IPO and rapid share price appreciation have propelled it past Amazon and Microsoft in market value, driven by strong retail investor demand and the high-profile $60 billion Cursor acquisition. The event has had a significant impact on the broader space sector, with investors rotating out of other space stocks into SPCX. With options trading set to begin, further volatility and trading activity are anticipated.