SpaceX Is Now America’s 6th Most Valuable Public Company

Summary

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WSJ What’s News: “SpaceX Is Now America’s 6th Most Valuable Public Company”

Date: June 12, 2026
Host: Alex Osila, The Wall Street Journal

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Overview

In this episode, WSJ’s Alex Osila delivers coverage of a landmark day for SpaceX as it debuts on the stock market, immediately becoming the sixth most valuable public company in the US and helping Elon Musk become the world’s first trillionaire. The episode also explores China’s oil import mystery amid the ongoing Iran conflict, updates on the Iran peace talks, and notes U.S.-China tensions as a student activist is detained. Listeners gain insight into the implications for global markets, geopolitics, and the celebrations in SpaceX’s inner circle.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. SpaceX’s Historic Market Debut

Highlights (00:34–03:23):

• IPO Details:
  • SpaceX’s shares opened at $150, 11% above its IPO price of $135.
  • Closed the day up 19% at $160.95, market capitalization at $2.1 trillion.
  • Now the sixth most valuable US public company, just below Amazon; Tesla (also led by Musk) sits at #8.
• Investor Frenzy:
  • The IPO was a “picture perfect debut” (01:00) with a gain significant enough to excite Wall Street but not so dramatic as to alarm.
• Musk’s Reflections:
  • Musk, speaking from Starbase, Texas, recounted early doubts about SpaceX’s chances:

    “When he began SpaceX more than 20 years ago, he told people that the company was probably going to fail.” (01:00)

  • Unidentified commentator underscores the improbability:

    “It is certainly hard to believe that little company that started in a warehouse in El Segundo... is now going public with the largest IPO ever.” (02:06)

• Trillionaire Milestone:
  • Elon Musk becomes the world’s first trillionaire post-IPO.
  • WSJ’s Teo Francis traces the journey:

    “Late last summer we estimated that he was worth just a little more than $400 billion. A few weeks ago... $811 billion. And of course now he’s crossed the trillion dollar threshold. Most of that huge increase since last summer is really about SpaceX.” (02:43)

  • Musk’s wealth remains tied up in company shares rather than cash; selling would affect valuations (03:10-03:16).

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2. Market & Energy Updates Amid Geopolitical Tension

Stock Movements & Oil Prices (03:23):

• Stocks broadly rose: Dow up 0.7%, Tesla up 1.8%.
• Oil at ~$85/barrel—higher, but not the spike analysts feared after the Strait of Hormuz closure.

Why Aren’t Oil Prices Higher? (03:23–04:48):

• US: Exporting more oil.
• China: Importing drastically less (down from 11M to 7.8M barrels/day), but the economy shows no obvious disruption.

The China Oil Mystery (04:14–06:39):

• Rebecca Fang, Energy Markets Reporter, explains:
  • China prepared by stockpiling up to 1–1.4 billion barrels of crude, mainly from Russia and Iran.
  • High electric vehicle (EV) adoption—over 60%—shrinks gasoline demand.
  • Heavy use of coal and renewables for electricity offsets oil use.

  “China was able to slash oil imports without visible disruptions to its economy… China is probably the country that prepared a lot for this exact moment.” (04:14)

• Impact & Outlook:
  • Slashed imports may eventually impact manufacturing due to higher costs for petrochemical feedstocks.
  • If/when China resumes importing, “that would definitely boost oil prices.” (05:49)

  “For China to be able to kind of just slash imports this way is pretty impressive.” (06:27)

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3. Global Flashpoints: US Policy, World Cup, and Iran Peace Talks

Trump Administration Updates (07:33):

• Federal judge halts Trump’s $1.8B “anti-weaponization” fund pending proof of abandonment.
• U.S. immigration enforcement complicates World Cup participation for some players, staff, and fans:
  • Somali referee detained for 10 hours, then deported.
  • Fans denied visas despite spending on tickets and travel.

  “Officials have defended the disruptions as the price of keeping the country safe.” (08:06)

Iran War & Potential Peace Deal (08:20–10:43):

• U.S., Iran, and mediator Pakistan say a peace deal is “nearly complete”—but skepticism abounds after repeated false alarms.
• Benoit Foucault, WSJ Middle East Correspondent:
  • Mediators and Iran were “very surprised” by Trump’s premature announcement:

    “They had not been told that this announcement was coming. That shocked mediators who had not been consulted.” (09:23)

  • Key sticking point is the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports; Iran requires a gesture on blockade relief before progressing.
  • Reports of a possible high-level Geneva meeting are unconfirmed:

    “Iranian media has denied that this was going to take place.” (10:43)

• Initial agreements (if reached) will only “kickstart the hardest part of nuclear negotiations.”

US–China Tensions (10:48):

• China detains Min Xin, an American student/journalist, for suspected espionage and national security threats.
• Comes weeks after Trump–Xi summit; raises diplomatic stakes.

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4. SpaceX IPO Celebration & Closing Moments (11:34–12:45)

• SpaceX’s insiders celebrate the IPO at JPMorgan Chase’s new Manhattan HQ.
  • Specialty cocktails (“The Future is Public”, “Starship”, “Falcon 9”).
  • Tomahawk steak bones branded with company logos.
  • Animated light show on the building’s crown simulating rocket launches.

  “When the sun goes down, the skyscraper's crown is set to light up, a display of rockets launching into the sky.” (12:36)

  • Musk is in Texas, not expected at the party.

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• Elon Musk (paraphrased via Alex Osila):

  “When he began SpaceX more than 20 years ago, he told people that the company was probably going to fail.” (01:00)

• Unidentified Commentator:

  “It is certainly hard to believe that little company that started in a warehouse... is now going public with the largest IPO ever.” (02:06)

• Teo Francis (WSJ):

  “Most of that huge increase since last summer is really about SpaceX.” (02:43) “He can borrow against his holdings to some degree, but ultimately his fortunes are tied up with the fortunes of these companies.” (03:16)

• Rebecca Fang (Energy Markets Reporter):

  “China was able to slash oil imports without visible disruptions to its economy. Cars are still running on the street, people are still traveling. Toilet paper is still there, and China is probably the country that prepared a lot for this exact moment.” (04:14) “China actually relies 70% of its crude oil on imports. And for China to be able to kind of just slash imports this way is pretty impressive.” (06:27)

• Benoit Foucault (Middle East Correspondent):

  “They had not been told that this announcement was coming. That shocked mediators who had not been consulted.” (09:23) “[The] US blockade on their ports... the Iranians want a first gesture.” (09:48)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:34: SpaceX market debut & IPO numbers
• 01:00-02:29: Musk’s reflections and IPO context
• 02:43-03:23: Elon Musk’s net worth, financial structures
• 04:14-06:27: China’s oil import drop and underlying strategies
• 08:06: Immigration crises affecting World Cup and fans
• 09:23-10:43: Iran peace deal status, mediator perspectives
• 10:48: China detains American student/journalist, U.S.-China friction
• 11:34: SpaceX IPO celebration details

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Conclusion

This episode offers an engaging overview of SpaceX’s astonishing rise, the financial aftershocks for Musk, and strategic responses to current geopolitical tension—including China’s oil maneuvers and Iran peace negotiations. With sharp reporting and lively behind-the-scenes detail—such as the IPO party on Wall Street—it’s a snapshot of a pivotal day for markets and world affairs.

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Transcript

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[Alex Osila]

SpaceX is now America's sixth most valuable company. And that makes Elon Musk officially the world's first trillionaire. Plus, it's a mystery vexing analyst. How has China been able to stop importing millions of barrels of oil since the start of the Iran war?

[Rebecca Fang]

China was able to slash oil imports without visible disruptions to its economy. Cars are still running on the street. People are still traveling. Toilet paper is still there. You know, how is this possible?

[Alex Osila]

It's Friday, June 12th. I'm Alex Osila for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of what's news, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today. Today, SpaceX made its long awaited stock market debut. Shares open trading at $150 around midday, 11% above the IPO price of $135. And the Rocket Company stock ended the day up 19% at $160.95. Its market cap is $2.1 trillion, making it America's sixth most valuable company, just below Amazon CEO Elon Musk's other company, Tesla, is now number eight. The IPO gripped Wall street and transfixed investors worldwide. And it was as near a picture perfect debut as most bankers could imagine with a pop that was neither too big nor too small. So speaking from Starbase Texas this morning, Musk said that when he began SpaceX more than 20 years ago, he told people that the company was probably going to fail.

[Unidentified Commentator]

It is certainly hard to believe that little company that started in a warehouse in El Segundo is now is now is not going public for the with the largest IPO that ever.

[Alex Osila]

That record IPO also helped Musk become the world's first trillionaire. Of course, Musk was already the world's richest person before the ipo, but a trillionaire is a notch above WSJ Special writer Teo Francis explains how Musk got here.

[Teo Francis]

Late last summer we estimated that he was worth just a little more than $400 billion. A few weeks ago we checked back $811 billion. And of course now he's crossed the trillion dollar threshold. Most of that huge increase since last summer is really about SpaceX.

[Alex Osila]

As of today's market close, Musk's net worth was about $1.2 trillion. Teo says that Musk's money is almost all tied up in his companies like SpaceX and Tesla.

[Teo Francis]

He's not only the biggest shareholders in these companies, he's also their leader. If he starts selling, that could drive the share price down.

[Benoit Foucault]

Down.

[Teo Francis]

He can borrow against his holdings to some degree, but ultimately his fortunes are tied up with the fortunes of these companies.

[Alex Osila]

Speaking of Tesla, it also closed up today, gaining 1.8%. Stocks rose overall, with the Dow leading the gains and finishing 0.7% higher. Today, oil prices are around $85 a barrel. That's certainly higher than before the conflict, but Nowhere near the 150 to $200 a barrel that many analysts pred when the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed. There are two main reasons global oil prices aren't higher. US Is exporting more, and China is importing less. To better understand the China side of the equation, energy markets reporter Rebecca Fang joins me now from London. Rebecca, this mystery of the 3 million barrels. This is the missing amount of oil that China would normally be importing every day, but now isn't. So how is China able to avoid importing all this oil?

[Rebecca Fang]

That actually is the mystery. So, yeah, as you said, normally China would import around 11 million barrels a day. But in May, the official data is showing that China only imported 7.8 million barrels a day. It seems to us that China was able to slash oil imports without visible disruptions to its economy. Cars are still running on the street, people are still traveling. Toilet paper is still there, and China is probably the country that prepared a lot for this exact moment.

[Benoit Foucault]

Yeah.

[Alex Osila]

How did they do that?

[Rebecca Fang]

It's been stockpiling crude oil for months, if not years, mainly by buying up cheap Russian and Iranian oil. China, for the record, doesn't quite publish its actual stockpiling, but analysts estimate it to be between 1 to 1.4 billion barrels, which, which is multiple, multiple months of imports. And then the EV penetration in China is pretty high. It's over 60% by the most recent estimate. So people are able to just consume less gasoline in general. So China actually relies on coal quite a lot for generating electricity. Oil is part of it, but the other is renewable, so wind, solar, you name it. And China has made it almost like a national priority to really heavily develop this renewables industry.

[Alex Osila]

Can this decrease in exports last? Like, what will happen if they have to start importing again?

[Rebecca Fang]

This kind of decrease in import will impact the Chinese economy. Eventually a lot of the Chinese crude oil imports goes into petrochemical factories to produce plastic and all kinds of other things. So if prices for petrochemical feedstocks go up, then eventually manufacturing will become more expensive and China relies on manufacturing and exporting manufactured goods. But if China starts importing again, some analysts were saying in the next week or two, others are saying in six months, that would definitely boost oil prices. But one thing I just want to say is it is pretty incredible because China actually as a country relies 70% of its crude oil on imports. And for China to be able to kind of just slash imports this way is pretty impressive.

[Alex Osila]

That was Journal reporter Rebecca Fang. Thanks, Rebecca. Thanks. Coming up, where a potential Iran peace deal stands and how the Trump administration's immigration policies are spoiling some people's World cup plans. Those stories and more after the break.

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[Alex Osila]

Today, a federal judge in Virginia stopped the Trump administration from proceeding with its $1.8 billion quote anti weaponization fund. The government has argued that the issue was moot. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress earlier this month that the administration wasn't moving forward with the fund. But Judge Leonie Brincoma said there was enough conflicting evidence that she couldn't be sure that the government had truly abandoned it. She gave the government a week to make a written and binding commitment, under penalty of perjury, to drop the fund. The first World cup game on US soil is this evening. It's the US versus Paraguay, playing in Los Angeles at 9:00pm Eastern. And though President Trump has promoted the tournament as a historic opportunity to showcase the, quote, beauty and greatness of America, his immigration policies are facing criticism. More than two dozen players, staff and officials have had trouble entering the U.S. one case that got a lot of attention was a Somali referee who was questioned for more than 10 hours at the Miami airport. He was then removed from the US and as for the fans, some have said that they spent thousands of dollars on tickets, flights and hotels, only to be denied visas. Trump officials have defended the disruptions as the price of keeping the country safe on the war with Iran. The U.S. iran and the chief mediator, Pakistan, all agreed today that a peace deal to end the war was nearly complete. However, since launching the war, President Trump has said nearly 40 times that the two countries were close to a deal only for the talks to fall through. Some US And Middle Eastern officials have become skeptical of the repeated claims of breakthroughs. And an initial agreement, if it comes, would only kickstart the hardest part of nuclear negotiations over the coming months. For more on the deal and where it stands, I'm joined now by WSJ Middle east correspondent Benoit Foucault. Benoit, how did Iran and mediators respond to President Trump yesterday saying that the deal was already done?

[Benoit Foucault]

Very surprised. They had not been told that this announcement was coming. That shocked mediators who had not been consulted. But that also sent shockwaves in Iran who pushed back very quickly not only about the fact there was no deal in their hands because it's not finalized, but also between Trump and the Iranians about what the deal actually entails.

[Alex Osila]

So my understanding was that the basic outlines of the deal have been clear for weeks. Right. Like, what are the points of contention?

[Benoit Foucault]

Still, there is one issue that the Iranians keep on hammering, and that's the US Blockade on their ports. The Iranians want a first gesture. It could be the US Blockade being lifted or at least eased. The second one is all this communication very sort of be optimistic communication with the US Trigger more mistrust on the Iran side. That's what I was told, both by the Iranians and the mediators. And the mediators are basically had to convince the Iranians to just really focus on the exchanges that are taking place privately.

[Alex Osila]

Do mediators expect this to really drag on or do we see an end in sight?

[Benoit Foucault]

Trump has said that there could be a meeting in Europe. He said that would be attended by J.D. vance. And so what we hear is that there could be potentially a meeting Sunday in Geneva between JD Vance and Khalibaf, the parliament speaker and chief negotiator on the Iranian side. But the Iranian media has denied that this was going to take place.

[Alex Osila]

That was WSJ Middle east correspondent Benoit Fukon. Thanks, Benhua.

[Benoit Foucault]

Thank you.

[Alex Osila]

And in news from China, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said today that it had detained Min Xin, a US Citizen who was a student activist and journalist, on suspicion of espionage and endangering national security. It's another possible point of friction between the US And China. Coming just weeks after the summit between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, China didn't give the location or date of Min Sin's arrest. And finally, if you're in the SpaceX inner circle, today's IPO was just the start of the party. Tonight, the Journal has learned SpaceX's early employees, executives and underwriting team will be toasting the IPO at the new JPMorgan Chase headquarters in midtown Manhattan. Now, a closing deal party is a rite of passage for IPOs, but this one is pulling out all the stops. It will include a buffet dinner and tomahawk steak bones branded with JP Morgan and SpaceX logos. Specialty cocktail names include the Future is Public, Starship and Falcon 9, named for a SpaceX rocket. And to top it all off, when the sun goes down, the skyscraper's crown is set to light up, a display of rockets launching into the sky. Elon Musk, who is in Texas, is not expected to attend. And that's what's News for this week. Tomorrow, you can look out for our weekly markets wrap up what's News in markets. Then on Sunday for our latest look at how inflation is affecting the midterms, we talk with voters in Georgia and WSJ's pollsters about the rising cost of health care. That's in what's New Sunday. And we'll be back with our regular show on Monday morning. Today's show is produced by Danny Lewis and Anthony Bansi, with supervising producer Tali Arbel. Michael Lavall wrote our theme music. Aisha El Musleim is our development producer. Chris Zinsley is our deputy editor. And I'm Alex Osola. Have a great weekend and thanks for listening.

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[Miriam Gottfried]

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