SpaceX, Elon Musk's aerospace and satellite company, is set to debut on the stock market this Friday in what could become the largest initial public offering in history. In an unusual move, a significant portion of shares has been reserved for individual investors, including those in Europe.
The IPO is expected to price shares at $135 each, valuing SpaceX at approximately $1.75 trillion (€1.5 trillion) and aiming to raise around $75 billion (€64.5 billion). The company will trade under the symbol SPCX.
SpaceX has earmarked up to 30% of its offering for retail investors, a departure from the typical 5-10% allocation in large IPOs. This structural shift opens the door for European retail investors, who historically have struggled to access high-profile US listings at the IPO price.
European Retail Offering Details
According to its prospectus, SpaceX has set aside up to 55.6 million newly issued Class A shares—about 10% of its public shares—for retail investors in seven European countries: Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. Each country's regulatory approval is required; Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) approved the sale on June 5, though it stressed this does not endorse the investment.
Retail investors in the United Kingdom can also participate. Platforms such as Revolut, Hargreaves Lansdown, and eToro are offering access. In the UK, Marex Financial operates a public offer platform through which eight retail platforms—including AJ Bell, CMC Markets, eToro, Freetrade, Interactive Brokers, and Interactive Investor—can submit orders.
Minimum investments vary: eToro requires $750 (€650), while Hargreaves Lansdown asks for £1,000 (€1,157). In Germany, TradeRepublic confirmed it will give retail clients access to certain IPOs, including SpaceX. Interest is high: Hargreaves Lansdown reported 35,000 clients registered for IPO alerts since April, and BNP Paribas notes retail participation in tech IPOs has shifted from 15% toward 30% of order books.
For a broader context on the IPO wave, see our analysis: SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic IPOs Test Market Capacity in Unprecedented $4 Trillion Wave.
Risks and Considerations
Registering interest does not guarantee allocation; investors will learn on Friday morning if they received shares. Brokerages often penalize "flipping"—selling within two to four weeks—by barring investors from future IPO allocations.
Price volatility is expected, especially in early trading, as institutions, early investors, and retail buyers react to the valuation. Currency risk is also significant: shares trade in US dollars, so returns for European investors depend on exchange rate movements.
Long-term profitability remains uncertain. SpaceX reported a $4.94 billion (€4.28 billion) loss in 2025 on $18.5 billion (€16 billion) in revenue, meaning it won't qualify for S&P 500 inclusion for at least a year. This matters for passive index-tracking funds. Denmark's AkademikerPension, managing $25 billion (€21.7 billion), declined to participate, with CEO Anders Schelde calling SpaceX "grossly overvalued" and noting Musk's ~80% voting rights make it uninvestable.
Professor Meziane Lasfer of Bayes Business School warns that retail investors lack the research tools of institutions, making participation risky. SpaceX's own prospectus acknowledges profitability is not expected soon.
For more on SpaceX's financial ties, see: Google to Pay SpaceX $920M Monthly for AI Supercomputing Ahead of IPO.
