Elon Musk: world’s first trillionaire as SpaceX on NY stock exchange

SpaceX has launched on the US’ Nasdaq stock exchange, with the biggest initial public offering* (IPO) in history making its founder Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire.

Musk is now individually worth more than many developed nations.

According to CNN, Musk has a fortune greater than the combined wealth of the next four richest business people in the world: Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

MUSK WEALTHIER THAN SOME COUNTRIES
If Musk were a country, he would now be the 20th richest nation on Earth, equalling the economy of Poland and exceeding that of nations such as Ireland, Sweden, Norway, the United Arab Emirates and about double his native South Africa.
While Australia’s economy, with an output of more than $US2.1 trillion, is about double that of Mr Musk’s wealth, as one individual he is now worth more than the entire economy of New South Wales, which comes in at around $US660 million. Add in WA’s economy and that’s about the size of Mr Musk’ bulging wallet.

MUSK RINGS BELL AT IPO
As is traditional, Musk was on hand to ring the bell at the start of the session in New York, home of the Nasdaq, where SpaceX will now trade on the stock exchange as “SPCX”.

“I told people this, I said, ‘Look, we’re probably gonna fail, but you know, we should give it a try, because if we don’t, if there’s not a new company that enters space, we will never be a truly space-faring civilisation’,” Musk said, moments before SpaceX made its Nasdaq debut.

Despite the vast amounts of money traded, only a relatively small amount of SpaceX’s shares are publicly available. Musk still owns 82 per cent of the shares and so very comfortably controls the firm.

Shares began trading at $US150 ($213) a share on Saturday AEST, 11 per cent higher than the expected $US135 per share. By midday, the shares were up to $US165 a share, 20 per cent higher than forecast.

That valued the space technology firm at a staggering $US2.2 trillion ($3.1 trillion).

It’s thought more than 4000 SpaceX employees, with stock holdings, could become instant millionaires on paper.

AMBITIONS TO ‘OCCUPY MARS’
Just minutes before the IPO went live, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket loaded with Starling satellites.

“Go SpaceX, go Starling to all SpaceXers, new and old. Let’s see what’s out there. Occupy Mars!” a SpaceX official said in a live feed of the launch from Cape Canaveral, on Florida’s east coast.

The rocket was carrying 29 Starling internet satellites, destined to join an existing network of more than 10,000 satellites.

Co-founded by Musk in 2002, the rocket start-up has since expanded into a major satellite operator and has also folded in Musk’s artificial intelligence* company – xAI – which includes the social media platform X.

QUESTIONS REMAIN
But questions were raised about SpaceX’s valuation and how its IPO was approved.

Democrat politician Elizabeth Warren said the numbers in SpaceX’s financials were farcical and it should not have passed muster with regulators ahead of its IPO.

“Trump’s SEC* greenlit an IPO with numbers analysts have called ‘nonsensical’,” she said.

“The SEC should do its job and ensure Elon Musk does not rip off investors”.

DATA CENTRES IN SPACE
The company’s valuation largely depends on Musk delivering on promises worthy of science fiction, including putting data centres in space and humans on Mars using as yet unproven technology.

“Our horizons are very long term. I do not want to focus on quarterly earnings,” SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell told CNBC.

“What folks that invest in SpaceX, SpaceX AI, need to know is that what we’re doing is very futuristic and we should be thinking about the future as well as the current order,” she said.

POLL:

GLOSSARY

• initial public offering: the first sale of a private company’s shares to the public
• artificial intelligence: the use or study of computer systems or machines that have some of the qualities that the human brain has, such as the ability to interpret and produce language
• SEC: abbreviation for the Securities and Exchange Commission, an official organisation in the US that provides rules for stock markets in order to protect investors

EXTRA READING

SpaceX celebrates massive fireball

Ghost jobs you’ve never heard of

NASA reveals plans for moon base

QUICK QUIZ

1. If Elon Musk were a country, what would be his international ranking for national wealth?
2. The combined economies of which two Australian states is roughly the equivalent of Musk’s estimated personal wealth after floating SpaceX?
3. What price were SpaceX shares trading at by midday on the day of the IPO?
4. What was the impact on the company’s valuation?
5. How many SpaceX employees could become paper millionaires?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Trillionaire inventions
If you had billions or even trillions of dollars like Elon Musk, what invention would you work on creating to help the world?

Sketch your design and outline:

• What it does
• Who it helps
• Why it is important

Do you think Elon Musk will use his vast fortune to help people or nations less fortunate than himself?

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Design and Technologies, Civics and Citizenship, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
“Look, we’re probably gonna fail, but you know, we should give it a try, because if we don’t, if there’s not a new company that enters space, we will never be a truly space-faring civilisation.”

Why do you think being a space-faring civilisation is so important to Elon Musk?

Should he or the US government be spending so much money on space exploration or focus more on the problems here on Earth? Explain your answer.

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.

Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.

Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?

Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.