This Thursday, July 16, SpaceX, Elon Musk’s aerospace company suffered a major setback on the stock market, putting an end to the euphoria surrounding its introduction. After having ignited the markets and seduced investors around the world, its action has crossed a symbolic threshold which is changing the outlook of Wall Street. This break could mark a turning point for one of the most scrutinized companies of the year.
In brief
- SpaceX stock has just crossed a critical downward threshold by closing below its IPO price for the first time.
- This decline of more than 40% since its historic peak places the aerospace giant in the dreaded category of failed introductions.
- This technical correction is explained by the recent failure of the Starship V3 test flight and the approach of the release of securities to the market.
- The firm’s stock market turbulence is shaking the crypto ecosystem, because Elon Musk’s company is home to one of the largest Bitcoin treasuries in the world.
A historic close below the issue price and the end of stock market euphoria
SpaceX stock, trading under the symbol SPCX on the Nasdaq, fell 3.08% to end Thursday’s session at $131.11. This outcome marks the first time that the stock has closed below its IPO price, set at $135.
Such a drop follows a volatile session on Wednesday, where the price tested an intraday low of $132.75 before settling at $135.27 by the end of the session. Thursday erased this resistance, illustrating a dissipation of the market’s initial fervor.
This turnaround is significant given the euphoria surrounding the company’s listing on June 12, 2026. Exceptional figures include:
- A record fundraising of $86 billion in the largest IPO in history;
- An immediate 19% jump in the stock on its first day to $161;
- An ascent continues until reaching a historic peak of $225 during the first month.
However, the recent fall of more than 40% since this peak has pushed the title into the category of “broken IPO”a feared qualification on Wall Street that weighs on investor sentiment.
Starship’s operational setbacks and technical market pressure
Beyond share price fluctuations on Wall Street, analysts highlight technical and operational factors to explain this correction. The stock’s decline was fueled by the failure of an attempt to launch the upgraded version of its ship, the Starship V3. This industrial incident has instilled doubt among investors regarding the manufacturer’s operational schedule.
Added to this are financial concerns linked to the approach of the end of the lock-up periods. These blocking clauses, once expired, will allow historic shareholders to freely liquidate their shares on the public markets. Such a prospect increases selling pressure, even as this revaluation comes amid a global wave of profit-taking and a broader correction affecting the US technology sector.
SpaceX’s Bitcoin treasure
For the crypto industry, SpaceX represents a closely scrutinized entity. The company disclosed ahead of its listing that it held a massive cash pile of 18,712 bitcoins on its balance sheet, representing approximately $1.19 billion at recent prices, ranking it among the world’s largest institutional reserves. This wealth strategy, combined with Tesla’s 11,509 bitcoins, brings Musk’s companies’ crypto treasure to over 30,000 bitcoins.
Such a level of exposure explains why bitcoin fell 1.9% to trade below $63,000 on the day of the close, while the turmoil wiped $150 billion from Elon Musk’s net worth. This integration led Michael Saylor to say that a quarter of the largest technology companies now hold bitcoin on their balance sheet.
The outlook for the manufacturer will depend on its ability to reassure the markets. Indeed, regaining the $135 will depend on the release of lock-ups, the return to flight of the Starship V3, and the first quarterly results report. A nuanced analysis indicates that if the broken IPO label temporarily tarnishes the firm’s image with traditional funds, the technological fundamentals and the foundation of its crypto treasury could offer real resilience, transforming this severe correction into a necessary consolidation phase before future developments.
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