SpaceX's stock tumbled to a post-listing low of $132.28 on Thursday, briefly dipping below its $135 IPO offering price before clawing back to $135.27. The drop marks a steep decline from the first-week peak of $225.64, shaving roughly 40% off the share price and slicing the company's market cap from over $2.8 trillion to about $1.8 trillion.
Retail investors caught in the slide
Retail investors, who got an unusually large 20% allocation in the IPO, have been hit hardest. Many bought in near the highs, only to watch the stock lose value week after week. The decline has erased billions in paper wealth, particularly for smaller shareholders who piled into the tokenized instrument known as the SpaceX xStock. That tokenized product still holds nearly $25 million in assets across more than 7,800 holders, with $313 million in transfer volume over the past month alone.
Short sellers' $8.7 billion windfall
While retail investors suffered, short sellers cashed in. As the stock fell below the offering price, those betting against SpaceX accumulated an estimated $8.7 billion in paper profits. The bearish trade has been fueled by heavy short interest and a flood of supply from early backers. Perpetual futures tied to SpaceX held about $615 million in open interest as of early Thursday, down from a peak of roughly $860 million in late June. Trading volume in those futures cratered from over $10 billion near the post-IPO peak to just $1.6 billion in the 24 hours leading up to Thursday's low.
Musk's wealth takes a hit
Elon Musk, who owns a 42% stake in SpaceX, saw his holdings in the company fall from about $1.2 trillion to $760 billion. His total net worth dropped from $1.32 trillion to $856 billion, a decline of roughly $464 billion. The slide in SpaceX's stock has been a major contributor, though Musk's other holdings have also taken hits.
The next big test for SpaceX's stock comes in the form of a massive insider share release. A block of shares worth $123 billion is expected to become available for sale in the coming weeks, potentially adding further downward pressure. Investors are watching closely to see whether early employees and venture backers will dump their holdings or hold tight. The lockup expiration could deepen the stock's slide—or signal that the worst is already priced in.
