Archive · 13 Aug 2026
SpaceX shares surge 35% after lock-up expiry, top IPO price
SpaceX is a big space company run by Elon Musk.
When its shares first went on sale to the public in June, this was called an IPO.
Some early investors were not allowed to sell their shares right away, which is called a lock-up.
On August 6, the lock-up ended for a huge number of SpaceX shares.
Many people worried that everyone would sell at once and the price would drop.
Instead, the shares went up 35% in just five days, climbing back above the original $135 price.
More batches of shares will become sellable in the next few months.
The company also released its first earnings report, with better sales than expected.
Musk thinks SpaceX will make over $100 billion a year soon and $1 trillion in a few years.
SpaceX shares surged 35% in five trading sessions since lock-up expiration on August 6, adding roughly $500 billion to market capitalisation.
The stock climbed back above its $135 IPO price after a volatile run that wiped out more than $1 trillion in market value through early August.
About 911 million shares became eligible for trading, roughly 40% more than shares sold in the record $86 billion IPO, lifting free float to 1.55 billion shares.
Further staggered unlocks are scheduled: 319 million shares on August 20 and roughly 700 million in both September and October.
The pre-expiration 14% dip was tied to higher-than-expected AI capital expenditures, while a large revenue beat aided the rally; Musk predicts over $100 billion annual revenue run rate by year-end.
- Who
- SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp), led by Elon Musk, and its early investors.
- What
- SpaceX shares rose 35% after the first lock-up expiration, climbing back above the $135 IPO price and adding about $500 billion in market value.
- When
- In the five trading sessions following the lock-up expiration on August 6.
- Where
- On the Nasdaq stock exchange, where SpaceX debuted with its record $86 billion IPO on 11 June.
- Why
- Early investors remained confident in growth potential, and better-than-expected earnings figures served as a likely catalyst, defying fears of heavy selling.
Optimists
Skeptics
Post-lock-up share selling pressure
Optimists
Early investors stayed confident, and the 35% rally signals upcoming lock-up expirations may not trigger the heavy selling that had been feared.
Skeptics
Concerns persisted that the wave of newly tradable shares, roughly 40% more than the IPO, would trigger heavy selling pressure.
Earnings report interpretation
Optimists
A large revenue beat and better-than-expected loss per share were likely catalysts for the stock's run-up.
Skeptics
Higher-than-expected capital expenditures for artificial intelligence caused a 14% plunge on the day before the lock-up expiration.
- Company
- Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX)
- Founder
- Elon Musk
- Stock gain since lock-up expiry
- 35% in five trading sessions
- IPO price
- $135
- IPO size
- Record $86 billion, priced 11 June
- Shares unlocked in first batch
- About 911 million
- Free float after release
- 1.55 billion shares (up from 639 million)
- Next scheduled unlock
- 319 million shares on 20 August