SpaceX tumbles to record low after Starship abort
Elon Musk’s $45.3 billion single-session loss highlights growing investor unease over the technical reliability of SpaceX’s flagship rocket following its highly anticipated IPO.
SpaceX shares fell 4.4% to $125 on Friday, dragging Elon Musk’s net worth down by $45.3 billion in a single session. His fortune now stands at approximately $797.8 billion, marking a steep reversal from the $1.45 trillion peak reached just over a month ago. The stock has now shed more than 14.5% over a five-day losing streak.
The immediate trigger for the sell-off was the aborted 13th launch of the Starship rocket on Thursday evening. Several of the rocket’s engines failed to start, forcing a scrub of the mission. “Hopefully in a few days,” Musk posted on X, later adding that “the most probable launch timing is early next week.”
This setback carries significant weight because it was the first test flight since SpaceX’s record-setting IPO last month. Investor expectations surrounding the rocket’s capabilities were already heavily baked into the valuation. Ahead of the launch, UBS analyst Gavin Parsons had identified the recent share weakness as a buying opportunity, forecasting the flight would “demonstrate multiple new milestones.”
Parsons specifically noted the flight was intended to validate booster engine relight ability and updated Starlink deployment. However, the failure to ignite engines on the pad echoes a recurring reliability issue. During a May test flight, the Super Heavy booster failed to make a controlled landing in the Gulf of Mexico after multiple engines failed to reignite.
This pattern of engine troubles raises fundamental questions about the reliability of the technology central to SpaceX’s growth strategy. The market reaction has been severe. Musk’s current wealth has fallen below the $813 billion level it held before the June IPO, meaning the listing has so far destroyed value for investors who bought in.
The sheer scale of the paper losses reflects Musk’s concentrated position. He holds 4.8 billion SpaceX shares alongside 350 million stock options, meaning every percentage point drop in the stock price translates to billions in personal wealth erased.
Despite the dramatic drawdown, Musk retains his position as the world’s wealthiest individual by a wide margin, sitting well ahead of Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Furthermore, his net worth remains up 54.5% year-to-date. For market professionals, however, the rapid evaporation of nearly $700 billion in wealth since mid-June serves as a stark reminder of the risks in pricing a company on future technological promises that have yet to be consistently proven.
