Retail Investors Flood SpaceX IPO with $100 Billion in Orders, but Musk Holds 82% of Voting Power

SpaceX IPO: $1.77T value, $250B orders, June 12 list. Musk holds 82.4% voting power via dual-class shares, prompting calls for governance reform.

The numbers defy comparison. SpaceX will begin trading on the Nasdaq on June 12 under the ticker “SPCX,” but the company has already amassed a staggering $250 billion in total purchase orders — nearly four times the $75 billion it aims to raise. Retail investors alone have submitted more than $100 billion in bids, a figure that eclipses the entire size of the year’s largest US IPO to date, that of AI-chip maker Cerebras.

A $1.77 Trillion Valuation Before the First Trade

The final offering price of $135 per share, set after market close today, values the company at roughly $1.77 trillion. SpaceX plans to sell 555.6 million Class A shares directly, with underwriters holding a 30-day option to purchase up to 83.3 million additional shares. Net proceeds are expected to reach $74.4 billion, rising to $85.7 billion if the full over-allotment option is exercised.

Retail investors will receive an unusually generous slice: at least 20% of the shares, and possibly as much as 30%. Distribution partners include Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Robinhood, SoFi and E-Trade by Morgan Stanley. On the institutional side, roughly 1,000 accredited investors are in the pool, and BlackRock alone has placed an order worth at least $5 billion.

Governance Concerns Swirl as Musk Retains Control

Yet for all the enthusiasm over the size of the offering, a sharp debate over corporate governance threatens to overshadow the debut. The core issue is the company’s dual-class share structure. Class A shares sold to the public carry one vote each, while Class B shares held by insiders carry ten votes. Under the IPO plan, Elon Musk will control approximately 82.4% of the voting power — and the holders of Class B shares are entitled to elect a majority of the board as long as even a single Class B share exists.

That structure has drawn fire from prominent institutional voices. In May, the New York state comptroller, CalPERS, and the New York City comptroller publicly objected, calling for a one-share-one-vote model, a sunset provision on multi-vote shares, and a board with a majority of independent directors. Senator Elizabeth Warren escalated the pressure on June 10 by sending a twelve-page letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission demanding a delay of the listing. She criticized the valuation, the governance framework and the risks to passive investors arising from accelerated index inclusion — a reference to FTSE-Russell rules that could force index funds to buy SpaceX shares regardless of their own assessment.

Valuation Gap: Market vs. Morningstar

The tension between demand and price is reflected in Morningstar’s fair-value estimate of $63 per share — less than half the $135 offering price. That gap implies that the market is baking in substantial growth premiums, particularly for the scaling of Starship and future orbital AI infrastructure. SpaceX itself has outlined the use of proceeds from the IPO: AI computing infrastructure, launch and rocket infrastructure, satellite constellation, and general corporate purposes — effectively bundling three hot themes — space, broadband and artificial intelligence — into a single listing.

Starlink Subscribers Double as Operations Continue

While investors await the opening bell, SpaceX continues to execute at its characteristic pace. Today the company launched 24 more Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base, the 50th Starlink mission this year. The satellite-internet network has become the centerpiece of the valuation: subscribers surged from 5 million in 2024 to more than 10 million in the first quarter of 2026. Separately, NASA today announced the crew for the Artemis-III mission, during which SpaceX’s lunar lander will dock with the Orion capsule for the first time.

What to Watch on Opening Day

The record order book does not guarantee a smooth first day. The sheer size of the demand could produce above-average volatility as price discovery plays out. What is certain is that new shareholders will have economic exposure to SpaceX’s growth — but virtually no say in how the company is run. That distinction sits at the heart of the controversy surrounding the biggest initial public offering in American history.