'Take the fiction out of science fiction': Here's what Elon Musk said as SpaceX makes blockbuster market debut
Elon Musk spoke to his colleagues and investors and the SpaceX IPO went live on Nasdaq on Friday, making him the world's first trillionaire and
Elon Musk spoke to his colleagues and investors and the SpaceX IPO went live on Nasdaq on Friday, making him the world's first trillionaire and putting the tech mogul miles ahead in terms of wealth of his peers. In his speech today, the SpaceX CEO spoke of how the 'little company' started by him is now 'going public with the largest IPO ever'. The world's richest man also said that he hardly had any hope about SpaceX becoming a success in the first place, saying, "And let me tell you, if people had told me this was going to happen, I was like, ‘man, you must be smoking some really good crack, because I think this company is going to fail.’ I mean I gave SpaceX less than a 10% chance of succeeding at all." Quick answers to key questions • 5 QUESTIONS 1 What was significant about SpaceX's IPO debut on Nasdaq? ⌵ SpaceX's IPO on Nasdaq was notable for being the largest in history, debuting at $150 per share, which was an 11% premium to its IPO price of $135, and marking a market valuation of approximately $1.96 trillion.
2 Why did Elon Musk initially doubt SpaceX's chances of success? ⌵ Elon Musk expressed that he believed SpaceX had less than a 10% chance of success, indicating his skepticism about the company’s survival and acknowledging the enormity of the challenges it faced. 3 How does Elon Musk envision making space travel accessible to the public? ⌵ Musk aims to eventually take anyone interested to the moon, Mars, or beyond the solar system, stating that SpaceX's goal is to make space travel available not just to astronauts but to ordinary people. 4 What motivates Musk's vision for a multi-planetary civilization? ⌵ Musk is motivated by his passion for humanity's future, believing that without new companies in space, the dream of becoming a 'space-bearing civilization' and realizing the exciting futures depicted in science fiction would remain unfulfilled. 5 Should investors be cautious about SpaceX's IPO valuation and potential risks? ⌵ Yes, potential investors should be cautious, as analysts have noted that the valuation and future success of SpaceX depend on Musk fulfilling ambitious promises and the volatile nature of newly listed stocks.
However, what drove Musk was his passion for humanity to become a 'space-bearing civilization'. "To be clear, in fact, I told people this, I said, ‘Look, we’re probably going to fail, but you know, we should give it a try, because if we don't, if there's not a new company that enters space, we will never be a truly space-bearing civilization," he said. 'No one was pursuing tech to make Star Trek' While Musk acknowledged that other aerospace companies are building good rockets, but his issue with them was none of them were pursuing technology that would make humanity an inter-planetary civilization and would make science fiction stories come true. "You know, while the other aerospace companies, they build good rockets and everything, they were simply not pursuing the technology that's necessary to make life multi-planetary, to make Star Trek, to make the exciting science fiction futures that we've read about real, and that's what SpaceX is all about, is to take the fiction out of science fiction and create an exciting, inspiring future for everyone," said the Tesla, Boring Company, SpaceX, Neuralink boss.
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