SpaceX Stock Plummets 13.61% on Wednesday; Retail Investors Buy Dip as 911.5M Shares Unlock Thursday

According to Vanda Research data, SpaceX (SPCX) stock plummeted 13.61% on Wednesday, August 5, amid concerns over AI spending, yet retail investors remained aggressive. In the first trading hour alone, individual traders net-purchased $22.7 million worth of SpaceX shares—the third-largest single-hour net buy since the company's IPO.

The sell-off was triggered by Q2 capital expenditure exceeding $18 billion, roughly 40% above analyst expectations, with most funds allocated to data centers and AI infrastructure. On Thursday, August 6, the lock-up period expires on 911.5 million shares held by early shareholders and employees, with a market value exceeding $100 billion. Additional tranches of restricted stock are set to unlock through December, marking one of the largest post-IPO unlock events in U.S. history.