NEW YORK: SpaceX shares officially commenced trading shortly before noon Eastern Time today at an opening price of $150 (£112), before quickly surging to $160.

The massive market rally has officially propelled CEO Elon Musk into uncharted financial territory as the world’s very first trillionaire.

The blockbuster public offering raised a staggering $75 billion, setting a new all-time record for an Initial Public Offering (IPO).

The launch comfortably eclipsed the previous record held by state-owned oil titan Saudi Aramco, which went public in 2019 with a $25.6 billion debut.

Musk maintains tight control over the aerospace giant, owning more than 80% of the firm.

SpaceX is a critical player in modern aerospace, manufacturing the rockets and core infrastructure heavily relied upon by NASA.

The valuation raises an mind-boggling question for the public: how much money is a trillion dollars?

SpaceX’s massive valuation is bolstered by its ecosystem of subsidiary companies.

The aerospace firm serves as the parent company to several other major Musk ventures, including the artificial intelligence startup xAI and the satellite internet constellation Starlink.