SpaceX stock has plunged toward record lows just weeks after history's largest IPO, even as Starship Flight 13 marks the company's first launch as a public company. Here's what's driving the selloff.
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Just six weeks after pulling off the largest IPO in history, SpaceX (Nasdaq: SPCX) is trading near its all-time low. The timing couldn't be more dramatic: the stock's slide has coincided almost exactly with Starship Flight 13, the company's first rocket launch since becoming a publicly traded company — turning a routine test flight into a closely watched referendum on investor confidence.
From record IPO to record slide
SpaceX went public on June 12, 2026, pricing shares at $135 and valuing the company at $1.77 trillion — the largest IPO ever completed. Demand was so strong that shares closed their first day up 19% at $161, and the stock briefly peaked at $225.64 on June 16, at one point pushing SpaceX's market cap above both Amazon and Microsoft.
That momentum has since reversed sharply. As of July 24, SPCX was trading around $114, within striking distance of its 52-week low of $110.85 — a decline of roughly half from its post-IPO peak in barely five weeks.
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Why the stock is under pressure
Much of the pain has been tied to CEO Elon Musk's other ventures. This week alone, Tesla shares fell 16.1% following a disappointing earnings report, and SpaceX dropped a further 26% over the same stretch — a double blow to Musk's net worth and to investor sentiment across his company ecosystem. The selloff has even spread into fixed income: SpaceX's 6.65% senior unsecured bonds due 2056 have declined from their issuance levels, signaling that credit markets are also reassessing risk.
Some analysts argue the drawdown reflects normal post-IPO volatility rather than a change in fundamentals, pointing to SpaceX's dominant position in commercial launches and satellite connectivity, along with genuine structural growth in the broader space economy. SpaceX also completed its acquisition of xAI, Musk's AI venture, back in February 2026, adding a third major business segment alongside launch services and Starlink.
Starship Flight 13: a test flight with new stakes
Against this backdrop, Starship Flight 13 lifted off on July 24 carrying a notable first: 20 Starlink V3 satellites, the newest and most capable version of SpaceX's broadband constellation. The mission followed a scrubbed first attempt on July 16, when four Raptor engines failed to ignite at T-0, forcing SpaceX to replace two engines before trying again.
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The flight profile mirrored Starship V3's May debut: a suborbital trajectory for the ship, targeting a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean, alongside a Super Heavy booster attempting a soft splashdown in the Gulf. That May flight was a mixed result — the ship successfully deployed dummy payloads, but the booster suffered engine issues during its landing attempt. SpaceX carried targeted hardware and software changes into Flight 13 specifically to address those problems, with the added pressure of NASA's upcoming lunar test flight requirements looming over the program's timeline.
What investors should watch
- Starship's reliability track record, since SpaceX faces real pressure to ready the vehicle for a critical NASA moon-landing test flight
- Whether SPCX stabilizes near current levels or continues testing fresh lows alongside Tesla
- Starlink V3 rollout progress, a key growth driver investors are counting on to diversify revenue beyond launch services
- Bond market signals, as widening yields on SpaceX's long-dated debt could point to broader credit concerns
Bottom line
SpaceX's post-IPO honeymoon has proven short-lived, with the stock now trading closer to its offering price than its post-listing highs. Starship Flight 13's outcome won't single-handedly fix investor sentiment, but as the company's first mission under public-market scrutiny, it's a meaningful early data point for anyone weighing whether the recent selloff is a buying opportunity or a warning sign.
This post is based on reporting from Investing.com, SmartAsset, Forbes, CNBC, Space.com, and Gizmodo as of July 24-25, 2026. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
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