The sell-off in SpaceX shares has erased Elon Musk’s status as the world’s first trillionaire, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His fortune dropped by $118 billion to $957 billion on 23 June, after the stock closed at $156.11—down 31% from its peak of $225.64 reached barely a week after the 12 June initial public offering. The reversal wiped roughly $600 billion from SpaceX’s market capitalisation over three sessions, including a 16% single-day plunge on Monday that destroyed $400 billion in value, the second-largest one-day loss on record behind only Nvidia’s $590 billion rout last year.

The retreat followed an IPO that had briefly valued the rocket and satellite company at nearly $3 trillion. Priced at $135 a share, the offering raised $75 billion—later $86 billion after underwriters exercised their overallotment option—making it the largest in history. The first-day pop of 19% and subsequent climb to $225 were fuelled by retail enthusiasm for space and artificial intelligence themes. But profit-taking set in as broader technology stocks weakened. In Seoul, chipmakers tumbled 10% on Tuesday, stoking fears that AI-related bets are overheating. London-based analysts at AJ Bell noted that post-IPO stocks often enter a period of intense volatility once initial excitement fades, with some investors rushing to cash out.

Musk’s concentrated holdings magnify the swings. He controls roughly 38% of SpaceX through 4.8 billion shares and options, meaning each dollar move in the stock shifts his paper wealth by billions. The company itself is moving aggressively: on Tuesday it raised $25 billion in its debut investment-grade bond issue to fund AI expansion, despite S&P Global Ratings assigning a BBB rating—the lowest investment-grade tier—and projecting cash consumption through 2029. SpaceX also announced a $60 billion acquisition of AI coding startup Cursor and a multibillion-dollar computing deal with Reflection AI. The debt issuance and spending plans have drawn scrutiny from investors already digesting massive capital raises across Big Tech.

Two near-term milestones will test the stock further. On Friday, SpaceX is expected to be added to major US equity indices, which would force index-tracking funds to buy shares and could provide a short-term floor. Separately, lockup agreements that prevent insiders from selling will begin to expire after second-quarter results are disclosed in the coming months, with at least 20% of shares released at that point and all restrictions ending by December. Susquehanna Financial initiated coverage with a neutral rating and a $170 price target, while the average analyst target stands near $227. For now, Forbes continues to estimate Musk’s wealth at $1.1 trillion, underscoring the divergence in real-time billionaire tallies.