Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire when SpaceX floated just over a month ago. Now, the share price has dropped below its stock market debut, falling sharply from a post-float peak.
The price for a single share in the rocket, satellite and artificial intelligence (AI) company fell to $132.62 (£98.24) on Wednesday, below its initial listing of $135 in June. Compared to its on-the-day high so far, the stock price is now down 41%. If the price holds or falls further, those who purchased stock around the time of its flotation will stand to lose money on their investment.
“SpaceX share price has fallen below its IPO price of $135, dropping 41% from its peak in a month of volatile trading.”
Even amid a tumultuous few weeks for tech stocks, SpaceX has taken a particular hit. Compared to a 0.2% fall on the wider Nasdaq index, where SpaceX's shares are listed, the company's stock price fell more than 2% on Wednesday.
SpaceX stock has been volatile since it began trading on the public stock market a little over one month ago. After an initial investor frenzy that saw the company valued at more than Amazon and Microsoft, the price of its shares has drifted downward. Initially, SpaceX was treated by investors as the first chance they had to invest in an AI company, according to financial market analysts and experts who recently spoke to the BBC.
Earlier this year, SpaceX acquired Musk's AI start-up xAI, recently renamed SpaceXAI, marking its first foray into an AI-focused business. xAI is best known for the controversial chatbot Grok, but through that acquisition, SpaceX now leases data centre capacity to other tech companies. The company's main business remains the manufacture and launch of rockets and telecommunications satellites called Starlink. When Starlink said it was cutting prices in the Memphis, Tennessee area amid local concerns over a massive data centre project, SpaceX shares fell by 8%.
Steve Sosnick, chief market analyst at Interactive Brokers, told Reuters: "There hasn't been anything lately to remind people of some of the catalysts for why they bought SpaceX." Sosnick added: "The fact that a stock has fallen a couple of dollars below its IPO price in itself is not a tragedy, but SpaceX is heavily watched and has an important role in investor psyche."
SpaceX is expected to release its first public earnings report in August — a moment that could either restore confidence or deepen the sell-off. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
