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title: The SpaceX Sham | daily.dev
description: SpaceX went public at a $1.75 trillion valuation — the largest IPO in history — making Elon Musk the world&#x27;s first trillionaire. The company merged with xAI...
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# The SpaceX Sham

**[Hacker News](https://daily.dev/sources/hn)** · 15 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

SpaceX went public at a $1.75 trillion valuation — the largest IPO in history — making Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire. The company merged with xAI before the IPO, with nearly 80% of its projected $28 trillion total addressable market tied to hypothetical AI enterprise services. Despite being unprofitable and carrying extensive risk disclosures, investor demand was overwhelming. The piece argues that market transparency and disclosure requirements failed to temper irrational exuberance, as evidenced by Nasdaq modifying its index inclusion rules to fast-track SpaceX. The author also highlights SpaceX's unprecedented share structure that strips shareholders of governance rights and voting power. The broader argument is that financial democratization cannot be achieved through transparency alone — it requires anti-oligarchy policies like progressive taxation, capital gains reform, and campaign finance reform to counter tech billionaires' outsized control over the economy.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/spacex-ipo-elon-musk-trillionaire>

## Questions this post answers

### What was SpaceX's IPO valuation and how did it affect Elon Musk's net worth?

SpaceX went public at a $1.75 trillion valuation on June 12, making it the largest IPO in history and briefly making Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire. The company's valuation surged past $2 trillion immediately after the IPO before falling roughly 20% below the IPO price by August 6, and more than 50% from its post-IPO peak.

_Developers tracking the AI investment landscape and its implications for the industry follow these market shifts on daily.dev._

### How did Nasdaq change its index inclusion rules for SpaceX?

Nasdaq modified its index inclusion criteria specifically to allow SpaceX's rapid addition despite the company failing standard requirements: it had only a 5% public float, was unprofitable, and had just recently gone public. Normally a company must wait a year and float a larger share. The S&P 500 initially proposed similar rule changes but ultimately declined, shielding funds like BlackRock's IVV and Vanguard's VOO from SpaceX exposure.

_Engineers and developers with passive retirement investments can track how these index decisions affect their portfolios on daily.dev._

### What share of SpaceX's projected total addressable market is tied to AI enterprise services?

Nearly 80% of SpaceX's predicted $28 trillion total available market is tied to a hypothetical market for AI enterprise services, following its merger with xAI before the IPO. The prospectus itself acknowledged that several anticipated market opportunities, including space tourism and human augmentation, do not currently exist.

_Developers evaluating AI market projections and their credibility can find critical analysis like this on daily.dev._

## Similar posts on daily.dev

- [SpaceX IPO: Everything you need to know](https://daily.dev/posts/spacex-ipo-everything-you-need-to-know-r3wyxief4) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments
- [The biggest IPO ever is also one of the riskiest](https://daily.dev/posts/the-biggest-ipo-ever-is-also-one-of-the-riskiest-gpsdoafkz) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments
- [SpaceX’s public IPO filing confirms Musk and insiders retain dominant voting control](https://daily.dev/posts/spacex-s-public-ipo-filing-confirms-musk-and-insiders-retain-dominant-voting-control-9iog6gc1x) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments
- [SpaceX is public: Everything you need to know post-IPO](https://daily.dev/posts/spacex-is-public-everything-you-need-to-know-post-ipo-1fjapuxyb) · TechCrunch · 5 upvotes · 0 comments

---

Tags: [#spacex](https://daily.dev/tags/spacex)

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