Episode summary
SpaceX Makes History With Biggest Wall Street Debut Ever | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
· · 57 min · Hosts: Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec, Ed Ludlow · Guests: Bailey Lipschultz, Max Chafkin, Anthony Hughes, Nic Colas, Ross Gerber
Summary
SpaceX’s first day as a public company was framed as a historic but highly speculative trade: the stock opened 11% above its IPO price and quickly traded up roughly 28% to 30%, giving the company a valuation near $2 trillion. The discussion focused on how much of that value rests on near-term businesses like Starlink and government contracts versus a much more ambitious story about AI, orbital data centers, and a future Mars economy.
The panel argued that the investment case is less about current earnings than faith in Elon Musk’s ability to keep turning futuristic projects into durable businesses. One guest said the pitch resembles a "calculus based on faith," while another emphasized that Starlink is already a "phenomenal business" and a real cash generator. At the same time, several participants questioned whether the AI and space-based data-center vision can be modeled in any meaningful way, especially given the heavy reliance on assumptions about adoption and scale.
The episode also returned repeatedly to governance and the possible future combination of SpaceX and Tesla. One guest said the merger idea is effectively a foregone conclusion, while another argued that SpaceX’s structure leaves shareholders with few traditional protections. Even so, the conversation ended with a split view: the company’s mission and execution were praised, but investors were warned that buying now means paying up for a story that may take years to show up in earnings.
Key takeaways
- The host said SpaceX’s debut was orderly, with the stock opening 11% above the IPO price and trading up as much as about 30% on day one.
- One guest argued the stock is not being valued on traditional metrics but on "faith" in Elon Musk’s ability to keep delivering futuristic businesses.
- Bailey Lipschultz said investors are especially bullish on the near-term AI and data-center narrative, including orbital compute and terrestrial NeoCloud renting.
- A guest said Starlink is already a "phenomenal business" and the clearest tangible part of the SpaceX story for many investors.
- Ross Gerber said he expects a Tesla-SpaceX merger eventually and views it as supportive of Tesla’s stock.
- The panel said SpaceX’s governance gives Musk extraordinary control, making the investment case more dependent on his leadership than on shareholder rights.
Notable quotes
“this is the messaging that Elon and company want to get across that waking up in the morning, you can't wait to see what happens next”
“the the problem is is that okay so SpaceX wants to put human humankind on Mars and actually in the interim on the moon”
“I think when you talk to investors and people who are Musk believers, Mars, this idea that they're going to be the Union Pacific of space”
“It is a phenomenal business”
“This is a very expensive stock relative to any rational measure of value”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news. This is Bloomberg Business Week Daily. Reporting from the magazine that helps global leaders stay ahead with insight on the people, companies, and trends shaping today's complex economy.
Plus, global business, finance, and tech news as it happens. The Bloomberg Business Week Daily podcast with Carol Masser and Tim Stenbec on Bloomberg Radio. SpaceX again 17469.
It's moving fast. Up almost uh 40, no, excuse me, up almost 30% here in the trade. Hey, one thing we wanted to point out and we want to continue with our all team coverage here.
Elon Musk earlier this morning in a live stream on another one of his platforms and companies, we are talking about X. Here's what he had to say. There are always problems on Earth.
There are always problems on Earth. There always things that we we wish to be better that we want to solve here on Earth and we we should solve them. But but there also have to be things that get you excited about the future that make you glad to wake up in the morning because you can't wait to see what happens next.
And that's the future that SpaceX wants to bring to you.
All right, that of course was Elon Musk on a live stream on X this morning. felt kind of spacey there, Tim Sten. — It did. It also felt very familiar if you've read the S1 for SpaceX. It felt like I was, you know, reading that all over again. Um, this is the messaging that Elon and company want to get across that waking up in the morning, you can't wait to see what happens next, the future that SpaceX wants to bring to you.
All right, guys. So, let's bring back Libs and Ed Ledllo, of course, Bloomberg News IPO reporter at Belly Lip Schultz and host of Bloomberg Tech on Bloomberg television, Ed Lello.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- spacex ipo
- nasdaq listing
- tesla starlink
- elon musk wealth
- ipo market
Companies and tickers mentioned
- TSLA
- SpaceX
- Tesla
- DataTrek Research
- Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management
Watch the episode
Watch “SpaceX Makes History With Biggest Wall Street Debut Ever | Bloomberg Businessweek” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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