SpaceX share price drops below stock market debut

Image source, Reuters Image caption, Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire when SpaceX floated

SpaceX's share price has dropped below its stock market debut just over a month ago, falling sharply from a post-float peak.

The price for a single share in Elon Musk's rocket, satellite and artificial intelligence (AI) company fell to $132.62 (£98.24) on Wednesday, below its initial listing of $135 in June.

SpaceX's initial public offering (IPO) made Musk the world's first trillionaire. Compared to its on-the-day high so far , the stock price is now down 41%.

If the price holds, or falls further, it will mean that those who purchased stock around the time of its flotation will stand to lose money on their investment.

Even amid a tumultuous few weeks for tech stocks , SpaceX has taken a particular hit.

Compared to a 0.2% fall on the wider Nasdaq index, where SpaceX's shares are listed, the company's stock price fell more than 2% on Wednesday.

SpaceX stock has been volatile since it began trading on the public stock market a little over one month ago.

After an initial investor frenzy that saw the company valued at more than Amazon and Microsoft, the price of its shares has drifted downward.

Initially, SpaceX was treated by investors as the first chance they had to invest in an AI company, according to what financial market analysts and experts recently told the BBC ,

Earlier this year, SpaceX acquired Musk's AI start-up xAI , recently renamed SpaceXAI, marking its first foray into an AI-focused business.

XAI is best known for the controversial chatbot Grok , but through that acquisition, SpaceX now leases data centre capacity to other tech companies.

The company's main business is the manufacture and launch of rockets and telecommunications satellites called Starlink.

When Starlink said it was cutting prices in the Memphis, Tennessee area amid local concerns over a massive data centre project, SpaceX shares fell by 8%.

Steve Sosnick, chief market analyst at Interactive Brokers, told Reuters: "There hasn't been anything that lately to remind people of some of the catalysts for why they bought SpaceX."

SpaceX is expected to release in August its first public earnings report.

Sosnick added: "The fact that a stock has fallen a couple of dollars below its IPO price in itself is not a tragedy, but SpaceX is heavily watched and has an important role in investor psyche."

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.