SpaceX IPO Could Make Welders Millionaires, Experts Warn

SpaceX plans to list 555.6 million shares at $135 each on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, targeting about $75 billion in proceeds and a company valuation near $1.77 trillion. The offering would be the largest IPO on record by proceeds and headline valuation and is scheduled for next week.

A number of early workers who accepted equity in place of higher pay stand to gain large sums. One former contractor who joined in 2015 built a stake from a $10,000 equity grant that vested over five years, added shares through payroll purchases, sold part of the holding in 2020 to buy property and now holds stock worth roughly $880,000. The former contractor described the holdings as having “put me in a comfortable position for life.” The worker now reports employment at a rival aerospace company.

Other former employees and industry figures say similar outcomes are common among rank-and-file welders and technicians who received grants in the company’s early years. A former employee who co-founded a power company wrote on social media that many welders and technicians could end up with six- or seven-figure outcomes after the listing.

Insider sales will be constrained by lock-up agreements, including a full share lock-up for the company’s top executive. Some retail buyers will face platform-specific access limits under broker-dealer rules, which could restrict who can buy at the offering price.

Market analysts note valuation and market-structure considerations for new buyers. One estimate places the offered valuation at roughly 90 times annual sales. Index providers have signaled they may fast-track the stock into certain benchmarks soon after listing, a process that can require index funds to buy shares while trading is still volatile. Current rules keep the company out of the S&P 500 for now.

Researchers and market commentators caution that strong initial pricing does not guarantee future returns. Joshua Roberts, a capital-markets correspondent, warned that initial public offerings are often accompanied by hype and can underperform broader markets over time. Jay Ritter, a finance professor, finds that companies that go public tend to lag the broader market in the three years after listing.

Other asset classes are already reflecting the expected listing. Trading in related derivatives and token markets shows positions priced to the anticipated valuation ahead of the public sale.

The coming weeks will show how the stock trades once public and whether early private gains for workers are matched by long-term returns for outside buyers. For many early employees who accepted equity instead of higher wages in the company’s formative years, the offering has converted modest grants into substantial holdings.