Investor Michael Burry questioned the $2.8 trillion valuation of SpaceX, describing the company as fundamentally a small space company and a niche telecom. In a post on Substack, Burry stated he was tempted to bet against the stock but decided against it due to the high cost of put options. The comments came as SpaceX continued its post-IPO rally, with shares touching an intraday high of $225.64 on Tuesday.

Burry Reviews SpaceX Options

Burry noted that a December 2028 put option with a $100 strike price was trading at about $25 while SpaceX shares were trading at around $212 at the time of his post. He also observed that a December 2026 put priced at $6.75 caught his attention, but he ultimately declined to place the bet. Burry predicted the stock would settle in the mid $200s and that volume would drain from the put option chain.

Valuation Comparisons

SpaceX, which remains unprofitable and generated $18.7 billion in revenue in 2025, reached a market capitalization of $2.8 trillion on Tuesday. Burry compared this valuation to Berkshire Hathaway and several national economies, suggesting SpaceX's market value could surpass countries including Canada, Italy, and Russia. He further noted that the valuation exceeded the combined fortunes of several of the world's wealthiest individuals.

IPO Performance and Price Action

SpaceX went public on Friday after raising $75 billion through its initial public offering, marking the largest IPO on record. The stock opened at $150 and reached an intraday high of $176.52 on its first day of trading. On Tuesday, SpaceX closed 4.83% higher at $201.80 and gained a further 2.06% in extended trading.

Elon Musk has officially become the world's first verified trillionaire, a milestone achieved following the historic initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX. The aerospace giant's debut on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX fundamentally altered the global financial hierarchy, rendering traditional billions insufficient as a practical unit of measurement for his fortune. The scale of this wealth now requires comparisons to other legendary tycoons to fully grasp its magnitude, with Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates becoming a primary benchmark.

SpaceX executed its IPO on Friday, selling 555.6 million shares at $135 each. The offering raised $75 billion, marking the largest IPO on record. The stock opened at $150, peaked at $176.52, and closed its first session at $160.95, representing a 19% gain. This debut valued SpaceX at $1.77 trillion, positioning it as one of the most valuable public companies in the United States. The momentum culminated in a historic trading session on Monday, adding approximately $165 billion to Musk's net worth in less than eight hours.

To contextualize the single-day gain of $165 billion, it exceeded the entire lifetime fortune of Bill Gates, who ranks as the 19th-wealthiest person with a net worth of roughly $104 billion. Musk's Monday profits alone could theoretically purchase Gates' entire net worth and still leave $61 billion in change. With Musk's total net worth sitting at $1.11 trillion, the new economic reality establishes a conversion rate where 1 Elon Musk equals approximately 10.7 Bill Gateses.

The gap between Musk and the rest of the financial elite has widened significantly. The second-richest person, Google co-founder Larry Page, holds a net worth of around $306 billion, meaning Musk laps his closest competitor by more than three times. Furthermore, Musk's $1.11 trillion fortune now exceeds the annual GDP of Taiwan. While Forbes pegs this status to his 38% stake in SpaceX and a 10% stake in Tesla Inc., the distribution of this wealth contrasts sharply with predecessors like Gates, who has donated tens of billions through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation compared to the $500 million directly distributed by Musk thus far.

Musk stated on Sunday that becoming a quadrillionaire is 'not impossible,' but suggested such a milestone would require the establishment of factories on the Moon and Mars. He indicated that a future economy supporting this level of wealth would likely move away from dollars, relying instead on mass and energy as currency. Earlier on Sunday, Musk also forecasted that SpaceX could achieve roughly $1 trillion in revenue by 2030, with his vision including the development of a 'Moon City' and off-Earth infrastructure.