SpaceX Soars 25% in Record Debut as Musk Becomes First Trillionaire: 3 ASX Ways to Play It

SpaceX made history on 12 June 2026, listing on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX. The shares opened at US$150, already 11% above the US$135 float price, then climbed past US$170, a gain of as much as 25 to 30% on the first day. That pushed the company’s value above US$2 trillion and, with his huge stake, made Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire, helped by his combined holdings in Tesla and SpaceX. The float raised about US$75 billion, the largest in market history.

One thing many investors may not realise: SPCX is no longer just a rocket and satellite company. After buying Musk’s AI firm xAI in February 2026, SpaceX now also owns the Grok AI models, large AI data centres and the social network X, formerly Twitter. So buying SPCX today means buying an AI infrastructure bet as much as a space one.

For Australian investors, there is one snag: you cannot buy SPCX directly on the ASX. The good news is that the listing instantly lifts interest in every local space, satellite and defence name. Here are three ways to play the theme from home.

Why the SpaceX listing matters for ASX investors

A debut this big does more than make headlines. It stamps space as a serious, investable theme and lifts sentiment across the whole sector. The choice for you comes down to risk: a broad space basket spreads your bets, a single defence stock gives more punch but more danger, and a tech index offers an eventual back door to SpaceX itself.

3 ASX Ways to Get SpaceX and Space Exposure

You cannot buy SPCX on the ASX, but these three locally listed options let you ride the same theme. Each suits a different appetite for risk.

BetaShares Space Industry ETF (ASX:RCKT)

This is the closest dedicated space play on the ASX. Launched in May 2026, RCKT holds around 30 global space companies, with Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile among its largest positions. It even holds EchoStar, which owns an estimated 3% of SpaceX, so you get a tiny slice of SpaceX through the back door. RCKT also has a fast-entry feature that can add big new listings about two trading days after they float, so it could pick up SPCX before long. The trade-off: you are buying the whole basket, which lowers single-stock risk but waters down the SpaceX effect.

BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX:NDQ)

NDQ is the eventual back door to SpaceX itself. A company this size usually joins the Nasdaq-100 index fairly soon after listing, and NDQ holds that index. For hands-off investors, this is the simplest way to end up owning a slice of SpaceX without a US brokerage account. The catch is weighing. In a basket of mega-cap tech giants, SpaceX would be only a small piece, so the effect on your returns would be modest.

Electro Optic Systems (ASX:EOS)

EOS is an ASX defence and space technology company that has soared over the past year. It is the highest-octane single-stock read-through here. There was strong demand for its recent share purchase plan, which pulled in A$95 million in applications against a A$25 million target, though the board accepted A$40 million. That signals real conviction. The caution: EOS shares actually slipped about 2% today in a wider defence and energy pullback, and after such a huge run, a lot of good news is already priced in.

So pick by appetite: RCKT for the broad theme, NDQ for eventual direct exposure, EOS for conviction and torque. One thing worth remembering is that SpaceX is not yet profitable. It lost about US$4.9 billion in 2025 and has racked up US$41.3 billion in losses since 2002, driven mainly by the cash-hungry xAI business. Starlink is the only profitable part. So today’s excitement is a bet on the future, not the present. Watch SPCX’s first few trading days and the timing of any index inclusion.

Want our full list of the best ASX ways to ride the space boom? Sign up for our free newsletter for the stocks and ETFs we are watching next.