New York: Shares in Elon Musk’s SpaceX jumped as much as 30 per cent on their trading debut on Friday after the biggest IPO in history, making the polarising entrepreneur the world’s first trillionaire as he vowed to take humanity to Mars.
The blockbuster initial public offering, which raised more than $75 billion, is expected to kick off a series of major IPOs by AI companies in the coming months.
The debut on the Nasdaq exchange in New York capped weeks of investor frenzy over the rocket company turned AI and satellite conglomerate.
“SpaceX wants to be able to take you to the Moon, take you to Mars, and ultimately beyond,” Musk said at a launch event in Starbase, Texas, surrounded by staff, many of whom became multi-millionaires with the launch of trading.
“I’m confident at this point that with the incredible team that we have here at SpaceX, that we will do that for you,” Musk added.
About 100 people assembled outside the Nasdaq’s home in New York, where SpaceX also marked the occasion with a neon sign in Times Square.
Musk “sets very futuristic goals that no one else is doing, and I think that has got a lot of people excited,” said Sarin Sio, of financial company Dovetail, who had come to the Nasdaq headquarters.
