Large Nasdaq MarketSite screen showing Elon Musk and SpaceX employees during the company's IPO event, with SpaceX logo above and Nasdaq branding below.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images
Tech

Spacex Stock Is About to Fall Below Its IPO Price, Days After Joining the Nasdaq 100 as Its First Spaceflight Company

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SpaceX just cracked the top tier of American tech stocks. Now a lawsuit could pull the plug on the data center behind one of its biggest contracts.

SpaceX shares dropped more than 5% to $150.85 in early trading, sliding toward the price they debuted at on day one.

The stock’s inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 was supposed to bring a wave of passive buying, since index funds have to hold what the index holds. Instead, a legal fight is hanging over the company.

Large Nasdaq screen displaying SpaceX branding and a video of Elon Musk speaking, surrounded by a group of people, at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York.
Elon Musk addresses the crowd via video link from SpaceX’s Starbase, Texas headquarters on a large screen at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York during the company’s IPO launch on June 12, 2026. Photo by Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty Images.

The suit asks a court to shut down the gas turbines powering SpaceX’s Colossus 2 data center, arguing they run without the permits the law requires. A shutdown could put part of SpaceX’s $45 billion contract with Anthropic at risk. Analysts expect a lower court is likely to order the turbines off until permits are secured, though it may give SpaceX time to comply.

Meanwhile, President and COO Gwynne Shotwell said she and her husband will gift one share of SpaceX stock to each of more than 2 million children through the federal “Trump Account” program. She said they’re “deeply honored and incredibly excited” to take part, and that the shares are aimed mostly at kids in lower-income areas, with a slight preference for those near central Texas.

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