SpaceX’s IPO Reality Check: High Hopes Meet a Very Expensive Starship

SpaceX’s IPO initially boosted its stock, but shares have since fallen well below the IPO price as investors doubt whether the company’s lofty valuation can be justified by Starship’s costly, unproven development. The program has endured repeated high-profile failures, and SpaceX is banking future growth on Starship to enable Starlink expansion, NASA lunar missions, and defense contracts—yet profitability remains uncertain as cash burn persists and the path to a scalable launch system is still unclear.