SpaceX’s record IPO looms as tech sell-off shakes global markets

This weekend, the financial world is fixated on a single date: 12 June, when Elon Musk’s SpaceX is scheduled to make its stock market debut in what is being hailed as the largest initial public offering in history. At an expected price of $135 per share for an initial tranche of 555 million shares, the launch could value the rocket and satellite company at $1.75 trillion, according to calculations from US and European financial reports. Musk’s own stake, combined with his Tesla holdings, would make him the world's first trillionaire. The offering is so massive that it has already spawned a shadow market: traders are buying and selling synthetic SpaceX exposure on crypto derivatives platforms like Hyperliquid and Lighter, bypassing the official listing entirely.

Yet the IPO arrives amid acute turbulence across global equity markets. on Friday, Wall Street suffered its worst session since October, with the Nasdaq Composite tumbling 4.2% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index crashing 10.4%. A surprisingly robust US jobs report for May jolted investors who had been banking on interest rate cuts this year, as the Federal Reserve is now seen holding rates higher for longer. The sell-off was exacerbated by a disappointing revenue forecast from chipmaker Broadcom, which punctured the exuberance around AI-related stocks. Nvidia fell 6%, Micron 13%, and Broadcom itself nearly 8%. The rout erased over a trillion dollars of market value.

Viewed from Zurich and London, the market tremors may share a common origin: the "enormous capital hunger" of AI firms, as the Neue Zürcher Zeitung put it, with SpaceX’s IPO looming as the largest single draw. Private-market funds such as Partners Group and Blackstone have already limited investor withdrawals this week, while bitcoin tumbled to its lowest since Donald Trump’s inauguration. In Italy, a similar nervousness pervades the commentary, with one business daily dubbing the SpaceX landing a "market shake-up". Across Asia, the shockwaves were immediate. Taiwan’s futures market plummeted over 3,000 points, a record drop, as analysts warned of a "sum of all fears" – a cascading wave of margin calls, forced selling by foreign funds, and algorithmic liquidation. South Korea’s Kospi, up 90% this year on memory-chip euphoria, suddenly saw investors scrambling for downside protection.

The contrasting forces – the excitement over SpaceX’s stellar debut and the sudden flight from tech risk – capture a deeper reckoning with the sustainability of the AI boom. While Musk’s venture embodies the transformative promise of artificial intelligence and space, the market’s violent rotation suggests that the speculative fervour of recent months may be cooling. With the US Federal Reserve likely to maintain its restrictive stance, and with more mega-listings on the horizon, global investors are being forced to choose. Whether the SpaceX IPO marks a triumphant new frontier or the peak of a cycle will depend on how these tensions resolve in the weeks ahead.