The City of London woke to a spectacle it had long anticipated but still found breathtaking. SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket ship to the stars, finally touched down on the public markets, and with it, Musk himself joined the ever-exclusive trillionaire club. For British tech ambitions, this is not just a rocket launch; it is a shot of adrenalin into an economy still nursing a hangover from inflation and a stubbornly high cost of capital.
The listing, on the New York Stock Exchange, saw shares open at a staggering $120, valuing the company at over $400 billion. By the close, Musk’s personal net worth had eclipsed the $1 trillion mark, a figure that makes GDP of many nations look like pocket change. But for UK investors and policymakers, the question is not whether Musk is now richer than God, but what this means for the Square Mile and our own struggling tech sector.
The initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed 20 times, a testament to the insatiable appetite for risk in a low-growth world. British pension funds, typically cautious, have been quietly positioning themselves for this moment, with some sources suggesting they allocated as much as 2% of their portfolios to the offering. It is a bet on the future of space travel, satellite internet, and interplanetary colonisation. But it is also a hedge against a grim reality: gilt yields remain depressed, and the return on traditional assets is pathetic.
For the Chancellor, who has been trying to lure tech giants to London with tax breaks and deregulation, the SpaceX float is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it validates the government’s narrative that the UK can be a hub for space and tech innovation. On the other, it highlights the persistent capital flight problem. British startups still look across the Atlantic for liquidity, and the UK’s own listing rules are seen as cumbersome. The Financial Conduct Authority has tried to modernise, but it is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
The Musk effect is already being felt. Shares in Virgin Galactic, the Branson space venture, jumped 15% on the news. And some British tech firms are talking about fast-tracking their own IPOs. But let us not get carried away. The market is efficient, and it will punish those with no profits and only promises. SpaceX, for all its hype, is not yet a money machine. Its Starlink division loses money, though it is growing. The economics of space travel are still unproven at scale.
What is clear is that the trillionaire club just got a new member, and London is watching enviously. The Bank of England, meanwhile, will be monitoring the inflationary implications. A stock market boom can be a double-edged sword: it creates wealth, but it also fuels inequality and asset bubbles. The MPC will not be losing sleep tonight, but they will be watching the data.
For now, the news is a boost for British tech ambitions. The government has promised a "space strategy" that includes a national spaceport and support for launch startups. But words are cheap. What matters is capital and confidence. The SpaceX IPO has provided both, at least for now. The real test will be whether the UK can convert this moment into sustained investment in its own tech ecosystem, rather than simply watching its best companies head west.
As for Musk, he is now in a league of his own. He has more money than some central banks. But the market gods are fickle. They giveth and they taketh away. One bad tweet, one rocket failure, and the valuation could plummet. For British investors, the mantra remains: diversify, hedge, and never fall in love with a stock. But this is a moment to mark. The space age has finally arrived on Wall Street, and the City is taking notes.
