From rocket launches that draw millions of YouTube viewers to intense social media speculation about its upcoming stock market debut, SpaceX’s initial public offering is shaping up to be a defining moment on Wall Street.
Traders are placing thousands of dollars in bets on the company’s ticker symbol and debating which exclusive group of top U.S. companies it will join. Even without having filed its IPO paperwork, the world’s most valuable startup has generated a level of online buzz typically reserved for only a handful of companies.
On the prediction platform Polymarket, users have been wagering on topics such as SpaceX’s target valuation, the exchange it will list on, and the ticker its shares will trade under. As of Friday, the total trading volume for these bets exceeded $15.2 million.
Odds on the platform currently give a 25 percent chance that SpaceX will choose the letter “X” as its ticker—a sharp decline from 60 percent a month ago. That single-letter symbol became available after U.S. Steel, which reportedly held it for over a century, was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange following its acquisition by Japan’s Nippon Steel last year. Elon Musk’s social media platform also goes by the name X after rebranding from Twitter in 2023.
Matthew Tuttle, CEO of Tuttle Capital Management, suggested that “SPCX” would be a better choice—coincidentally the same ticker used by an exchange-traded fund his firm manages. Tuttle said he would be open to selling the symbol to SpaceX, adding, “I’ve not heard from Elon, but my phone line is still open and I’m holding out hope that I get a call.”
Other ticker possibilities being floated on Polymarket include “SPAX” and the more provocative “SEX.” However, users see roughly a 70 percent probability that the company ultimately opts for a different symbol altogether.
SpaceX is targeting a valuation of $1.75 trillion for its listing, which would make it the sixth-largest U.S. company by market capitalization. That would put it ahead of Tesla and Meta Platforms, which currently hold market values of approximately $1.4 trillion and $1.39 trillion, respectively.
The potential size of the debut has fueled speculation about whether SpaceX’s arrival will reshape the so-called “Magnificent Seven”—the group of the most valuable U.S. technology companies. As one observer put it, when the company finally goes public, that exclusive club will likely expand, possibly becoming the “Magnificent Eight,” the “Super Eight,” or some new acronym altogether.
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