Elon Musk's SpaceX soars 20% in blockbuster Nasdaq debut

SpaceX shares opened at $150 on Friday before rising to $162, marking a strong start to one of the most closely watched stock market debuts in recent years.

The aerospace and satellite internet company priced its initial public offering at $135 per share on Thursday. SpaceX sold 555.6 million shares, raising $75 billion in what stands as the largest IPO ever.

Bitcoin BTC$63,837.95 was roughly flat at $63,400, while AI-related crypto stocks saw modest gains.

Trading under the ticker SPCX on Nasdaq, the company had been valued at roughly $1.8 trillion based on the IPO price.

The debut gives public investors their first chance to own shares in a company that has reshaped the commercial space industry through reusable rockets and built one of the world's largest satellite networks through Starlink. The satellite internet business has become a major source of growth, serving customers in remote areas where traditional broadband can be difficult to access.

SpaceX generated about $19 billion in revenue last year from launch services, government contracts and Starlink operations.

Investors are also gaining exposure to one of the larger bitcoin holdings among publicly traded companies. SpaceX held 18,712 bitcoin as of March 31, according to company disclosures. At bitcoin’s recent price of around $63,500, those holdings are worth just under $1.2 billion.