Nasdaq's "Special Handling" Welcomes SpaceX: $42 Billion in Passive Funds Bought, August 6 Unlock Is the Real Test

BlockBeats News, July 6—Fund managers tracking the Nasdaq 100 Index will complete mandatory rebalancing after the market closes on Tuesday local time. Approximately $4.3 billion in funds will passively buy shares of SpaceX (SPCX), and tens of millions of U.S. investors who hold Nasdaq index funds in their 401(k), IRA, or standard accounts will unknowingly “become” SpaceX shareholders.

Starting July 7, SpaceX will officially become a Nasdaq 100 component stock—also the fastest company in history to be added to a major U.S. index. The relevant funds’ position weighting is about 0.5% to 0.7%. Nasdaq previously required new listings to have been trading for at least 3 months and for public shareholding to be no less than 10% in order to be included in the index. However, new rules that took effect on May 1 significantly lowered the threshold: as long as a company’s market value ranks within the top 40 of the existing constituents, it can be “fast-tracked” into the index after only 15 trading days with 5 days’ advance notice. This rule took effect exactly in the six weeks prior to SpaceX’s IPO on June 12.

Critics say this time window is “too short to complete price discovery,” and even call it “the most shameless manipulation of a major index,” arguing that the company, existing shareholders, and the exchange all benefit, while passive fund holders are forced to bear the price costs. SpaceX’s publicly tradable shares account for only 3% to 5%. Combined with the float weight multiplier, the amount of passive funds buying far exceeds what the actual float can reasonably absorb.

Meanwhile, the S&P remains unchanged. The S&P 500 keeps the existing 12-month observation period and the same criteria, such as four consecutive quarters of GAAP profitability. SpaceX posted a net loss of $4.28 billion in the first quarter, and a full-year loss of $4.94 billion in 2025; the earliest it may meet the S&P inclusion conditions is mid-2027.

Analysts point out that the real test will come on August 6—when the company releases its first quarterly earnings report. At that time, approximately 20% of insider-locked shares will be released from lockup. Once passive buying disappears and potential selling pressure emerges, the supply-and-demand balance may reverse.