Elon Musk's SpaceX IPO speech》I want to make science fiction a reality, I want to take you to the Moon, Mars, and beyond

On June 12, SpaceX went public on NASDAQ, setting the record for the largest IPO in U.S. stock history. But Elon Musk himself delivered his speech via video link from his Starbase base in Texas, without mentioning shareholder returns. His theme was sending humans to Mars, to take "you watching the live broadcast" away from Earth.
(Background: Today (12th), SpaceX officially IPOs and rings the NASDAQ bell! Investors must see the "Four Key Time Points")
(Additional background: The most aggressive IPO in U.S. stock history! SpaceX raised over $70 billion in retail orders, nearly filling the global total fundraising amount)

Table of Contents

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• Musk didn't talk about money
• SpaceX is building an exit
• "I'm not talking about astronauts, but about you watching the live broadcast"
• Every step, someone says "You will never do it"
• An outsider in the trillion-dollar club

Key Highlights

• SpaceX listed on NASDAQ as SPCX on 6/12, raising about $75 billion, with a valuation of $1.75 trillion, setting the largest IPO in U.S. stock history
• Musk was absent from the scene (connected from Texas Starbase), with no mention of financial reports, only discussing Mars vision and "removing the friction from science fiction"
• He admitted to giving SpaceX less than a 10% chance of success, with the goal of making humanity multi-planetary, to take "you watching the live broadcast" to the Moon and Mars

The NASDAQ opening bell rang on the morning of June 12. On stage, SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell rang the bell, cheered on by employees filling the trading hall, except for one person—Elon Musk himself.

He was at Texas Starbase, with four or five thousand employees, participating via screen, and then, in this momentous company going public, Musk’s speech was quite different.

Musk didn't talk about money

What would a company that just became the most expensive IPO in U.S. history, raising $75 billion, say into the microphone? Usually, it would be about revenue growth, order visibility, Starlink users, commitments to shareholders—almost every IPO script follows this pattern.

But Musk didn't talk about money. Usually very eloquent, he even appeared a bit stuttered during his speech, showing some nervousness, overly moved, unsure how to start. But the first thing he mentioned was self-deprecating.

"If someone had told me this would happen, I would say, buddy, you must be on something good. Because I thought this company was going to fail."

Back then, he himself saw less than a 10% chance of SpaceX’s success.

"I told people, we might fail, but we should try anyway. Because if no new company enters space, we will never become a truly spacefaring civilization."

SpaceX is building an exit

In his speech, Musk called out his peers. He said other aerospace companies build good rockets, with no real issues. But his vision for SpaceX is more than that.

They’re not pursuing the technology that allows life to survive across planets, turning "Star Trek" into reality, making the sci-fi futures we read about real.

That’s the whole meaning of SpaceX. Its goal is to remove the friction from science fiction.

The original phrase is "take the friction out of science fiction," a double entendre. Between science fiction and reality, there’s a layer of friction—engineering, cost, the common sense of "this is impossible."

SpaceX aims to eliminate that layer of unrealistic friction.

This is the fundamental difference between SpaceX and companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Blue Origin. Others sell rocket launch services, priced per use, sending satellites into space and billing accordingly. SpaceX’s big dream is about the future of human civilization.

"I'm not talking about astronauts, but about you watching the live broadcast"

This part should be screenshot-worthy. Musk didn’t exaggerate by talking about "the fate of humanity." He directly looked into the camera and said:

We want to take anyone who wants to go to the Moon, anyone who wants to go to Mars, anywhere in the solar system, and even someday beyond.

Not just a few astronauts.

I mean, literally you. Whoever you are, watching this live broadcast, SpaceX wants to take you to the Moon, to Mars, and eventually further.

Every step, someone says "You will never do it"

Before Musk’s connection, Gwynne Shotwell recited a list on-site. It wasn’t a financial report; it was a list of history-making achievements. After each achievement, she added the same word: Check (done).

• In 2008, Falcon 1 succeeded in orbit after its third launch failure, becoming the first liquid-fueled rocket launched into orbit by a private company. Someone said private companies would never reach orbit. Check
• Two years later, Falcon 9. Someone said it was just a small rocket, incapable of making a real big one. Check
• International Space Station. Someone said you’d never send humans there. Check
• Last year, 165 launches. Someone said you’d never mass-produce. Check
• On the morning of the IPO, SpaceX also launched a Falcon 9, sending a batch of Starlink satellites into orbit.

"Which company would do this on its IPO day? SpaceX," Shotwell said. The most convincing proof came from inside—she revealed that over half of the employees bought additional shares at the opening, totaling billions of dollars.

An outsider in the trillion-dollar club

This is the fundamental difference between SpaceX and those past trillion-dollar companies.

Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Saudi Aramco—all derive their market value from the same logic: selling more, earning more, higher stock prices, with visions serving the financial reports. Aramco’s prospectus discusses oil reserves; Nvidia’s earnings calls talk about AI chip demand curves—stories of numbers continuing to grow.

SpaceX flipped this order. Its financial reports, Starlink revenue, launch orders exist to feed an unrealized vision—to go to the Moon, Mars, and places humanity has never been.

Musk explained clearly in his speech: problems on Earth will always exist, and we should solve them. But there must also be things that excite you about the future—things that make you eager to wake up in the morning, curious about what will happen next.

SpaceX is likely selling dreams and romance. Musk admits it too—this is all a dream that hasn’t yet become reality. The market cap is proportional to this dream, but many in the world seem willing to buy into it.

After ringing the bell, the on-site music played Elton John’s "Rocket Man." It’s not an inspirational song; its lyrics talk about "Mars is not a place to raise children, in fact, it’s as cold as hell," singing about an astronaut burning fuel alone, flying upward in loneliness.

The largest IPO in history, paired with a song about loneliness.

Musk may not be someone who’s easy to like, because he just wants to fly higher.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Musk say in SpaceX’s IPO speech?

Connecting from Texas Starbase, Musk’s speech didn’t mention any financials or revenue. He admitted to giving SpaceX less than a 10% chance of success, emphasizing that SpaceX’s mission is to make life multi-planetary, turning sci-fi into reality, and he said he wants to take "you watching the live broadcast" to the Moon and Mars.

How is SpaceX’s IPO different from other high-market-value companies?

Apple, Nvidia, Saudi Aramco—all base their valuations on selling more products, earning more, and serving financial reports. SpaceX’s revenue from Starlink and launch orders exists to support an unfulfilled vision—to go to Mars and beyond.