Uday Kotak questions SpaceX valuation, says only time will tell if we’re in ‘mega bubble’

As SpaceX’s blockbuster stock market debut vaulted the company into the ranks of the world’s most valuable firms and made Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire, Indian billionaire banker Uday Kotak posed a question: Are investors betting on the future of humanity, or are they witnessing a mega bubble in the making?

Reacting to SpaceX’s IPO and listing, the Kotak Mahindra Bank founder said the listing is “a true test for capitalism”, arguing that the company’s valuation cannot be explained through conventional frameworks. “The valuation does not fit any traditional matrix and is a huge bet on the future course of planet earth,” he said. “Only time will tell whether we, the human race, have arrived into the fairy tale world we grew up in as children, or are in a mega bubble,” he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday.

While questioning how markets should value a company such as SpaceX, Kotak also praised both Musk and the United States for making such an outcome possible. “Either ways, kudos to the man who came as an immigrant, and to the country that has allowed such boundless creativity to flourish despite all the risks it embeds,” he wrote.

SpaceX debut

Kotak’s comments came after a stellar debut that instantly propelled Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company into the ranks of the world’s most valuable firms.

After raising $75 billion in the biggest initial public offering ever, SpaceX began trading under the ticker SPCX at $150, an 11% premium to its IPO price of $135. The stock surged as high as $176.52 during the session before ending the day at $160.95, a gain of nearly 19% from the offer price.

That rally was enough to rocket SpaceX into seventh place among the world’s most valuable listed companies. With a market value of about $2.1 trillion at Friday’s close, SpaceX now sits just behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which is valued at $2.9 trillion.

Investor demand was evident throughout the session. More than 500 million shares changed hands on debut, a figure that approached Facebook’s first-day trading volume of about 580 million shares in 2012.

SpaceX share demand surges further

The momentum did not stop when the closing bell rang. SpaceX shares continued climbing in extended trading, rising close to 3.5% to $166.76 as of 6:30 p.m. ET. Roughly 16 million shares changed hands in post-market activity, adding to the more than 500 million traded during regular hours. The after-hours advance lifted the company’s market capitalization by another $80 billion to around $2.2 trillion.

SpaceX lifts Elon Musk into trillionaire territory

The blockbuster debut also marked a watershed moment for Musk personally. The surge in SpaceX shares pushed his net worth to $1.11 trillion, making him the world’s first trillionaire.According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk’s fortune now exceeds the combined wealth of Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Jeff Bezos and Larry Ellison. Together, the four billionaires are worth $1.089 trillion, less than Musk’s estimated net worth of $1.11 trillion. According to a CNBC report, Data from VandaTrack showed SpaceX was the most-bought stock by retail traders on a net basis during Friday’s session, while it was also among the most-discussed names on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum ahead of the listing.

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