SpaceX Stock Dips Below IPO Price as Starship Launch Abort Rattles Investors
SpaceX shares closed below their initial public offering price on the same day a Starship launch was aborted after ignition, raising questions about investor confidence ahead of the next attempt.
This article was drafted with AI assistance from multiple sources and was reviewed and approved by a human editor before publication.
SpaceX experienced a turbulent day on July 16, 2026, as its stock closed below the initial public offering price of $135 and the company aborted a Starship launch attempt shortly after ignition.
The stock fell to $135.27 at the close, dipping below $133 during the session, and dropped more than 4% in after-hours trading following the abort. The IPO, which took place on June 12, 2026, raised nearly $86 billion, with shares initially soaring above $200 and briefly rivaling the valuations of Amazon and Microsoft. However, only 4% of SpaceX's total shares are trading on Nasdaq, creating a small float that can amplify price swings. The company's bonds sold after the IPO are also suffering.
The abort occurred during the second attempt to launch the third-generation Starship V3. SpaceX's broadcast indicated that four new Raptor engines did not fire on ignition. Elon Musk said on X: "Some of the engines didn’t start, triggering an automatic launch abort" and that the company would try again "hopefully in a few days." SpaceX must now remove propellant from both stages before determining the cause.
The flight was intended to deploy the first third-generation Starlink satellites, which are designed to burn up approximately 20 minutes after deployment. SpaceX does not plan to recover the booster or upper stage on this flight; both will simulate landing in the Gulf of Mexico and end in explosion.
The previous Starship V3 launch in May 2026 had a booster failure. The Super Heavy booster failed before a simulated landing, though the upper stage lost an engine during the mission but performed a simulated landing successfully. The Federal Aviation Administration cleared SpaceX to fly again earlier this week after identifying the causes and fixes for the booster failure.
The combination of the stock falling below the IPO price and the launch abort on the same day raises questions about investor confidence ahead of Starship's next attempt. Meanwhile, other AI companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI have filed confidentially for IPO, highlighting the competitive landscape for investor attention.