SpaceX’s record-shattering initial public offering on 12 June raised an estimated $75 billion to $85 billion, instantly making Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire with a net worth of $1.2 trillion—more than the combined wealth of 46 per cent of humanity, according to Oxfam. Shares surged from an opening price of $135 to above $225, briefly propelling the company past Microsoft in market value. But the rally cooled sharply: by Thursday the stock had dropped as much as 10 per cent, extending a two-day slide that analysts in New York called a healthy consolidation. Even so, SpaceX was set to close its first full week with a gain of about 35 per cent.

The volatility masks a frantic push to fund Musk’s next ambitions. Bankers are readying a bond offering of at least $20 billion, the company’s debut in investment-grade dollar debt, to refinance a bridge loan and bankroll an AI expansion that includes the experimental idea of orbital data centres. Space startups are already approaching insurers to cover such high-cost hardware, a sign of early progress for an industry backed by SpaceX and Blue Origin. Investors, particularly those watching from London, are paying record valuations for a company whose AI ventures remain deeply unprofitable, betting almost entirely on future growth.

The listing has also exposed the global patchwork of early backers. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, a Canadian fund whose members often clash ideologically with Musk, saw its stake swell by more than $10 billion. More delicate, from Washington’s vantage point, are pre-IPO stakes quietly acquired by a businessman with ties to Chinese military contractors and an entity linked to the Qatari royal family. Although SpaceX barred investors from China and Hong Kong from the public offering, the earlier shareholdings raise national-security questions for a firm that builds spy satellites for the Pentagon.

With the IPO behind it, attention is turning to a possible merger with Tesla. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell did not dismiss the idea, and analysts across Wall Street are gaming out a combined entity worth roughly $4 trillion. Proponents say it would streamline Musk’s empire; sceptics fear a loss of focus. Meanwhile, the broader space economy is being reframed as a trillion-dollar industry, with investors in Tel Aviv eyeing a new crop of space stocks. The coming bond roadshow and any merger signals will test whether the post-IPO dip is a mere correction or the start of a more turbulent orbit.