SpaceX’s $60B AI Bet Fails to Halt 6.5% Post-IPO Slide

For the startup and venture capital world, SpaceX’s IPO was a liquidity milestone, but the 6.5% drop and the simultaneous $60 billion stock deal for AI upstart Anysphere tell a more nuanced story: public markets are rewarding strategic ambition but punishing overreach. The giant all-stock acquisition turns Anysphere’s early investors into SpaceX shareholders just as the rocket builder’s valuation comes under scrutiny.

SpaceX shares tumbled 6.5% to $178.50 on Thursday, extending a 5% drop from the prior session and wiping out over $150 billion in market capitalization, as the historic post-IPO rally fizzled. The stock, which debuted last week at $135 on Nasdaq, remains more than 30% above its offering price, but the swift pullback—following two days of euphoric trading—signals the beginning of a more sober assessment of the company's $2.52 trillion valuation. The retreat was mirrored across the space sector, with Rocket Lab, Planet Labs, AST SpaceMobile, and Intuitive Machines all declining, underscoring the gravitational pull of the industry's newly public giant.

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SpaceX shares tumbled 6.5% to $178.50 on Thursday, extending a 5% drop from the prior session and wiping out over $150 billion in market capitalization, as the historic post-IPO rally fizzled.

The sell-off was widely anticipated. Analysts at IPOX Schuster noted that profit-taking after the largest IPO in history was inevitable, particularly in a holiday-shortened trading week. Kat Liu described the pullback as unsurprising given 'the magnitude of the IPO and the strong initial performance.' Behind the move, retail investors—who had poured over $300 million in net purchases across the first three sessions—dramatically reduced their activity. Vanda Research reported only $9.1 million in net buying by 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, suggesting the retail-fueled momentum has exhausted, at least temporarily.

Adding to the complexity, SpaceX announced on Tuesday a $60 billion all-stock acquisition of Anysphere, the startup behind the popular AI coding agent Cursor. The deal underscores Elon Musk's ambition to pivot SpaceX aggressively into enterprise AI, a costly and unproven revenue stream beyond its core launch and satellite businesses. While the acquisition may promise long-term diversification, it simultaneously raises questions about near-term capital allocation and the dilution impact of such a large equity-funded transaction. The announcement, juxtaposed with the share slide, likely contributed to investor unease.

The capital picture is set to become even more layered. SpaceX's bankers are preparing to meet investors as early as next week to discuss a bond offering of at least $20 billion, a source revealed on Thursday. For a company that only just accessed public equity markets, the rapid turn to debt markets signals a voracious appetite for capital, possibly linked to the AI expansion and other megaprojects like Starship and Starlink. However, issuing such a large bond so soon after the IPO could pressure the stock if markets read it as a sign of cash burn or overreach.