The SpaceX IPO made Musk a trillionaire. The old rules of capitalism no longer apply | Robert Reich

The economic principles taught in school aren’t as relevant as hype, connections and total, arbitrary control Share your views on SpaceX’s stock market debut Elon Musk is now the world’s first trillionaire, after his SpaceX exploration and satellite company went public on the Nasdaq on Friday. With shares priced at $135 each, Musk’s aerospace and satellite maker soared to an overall market valuation of approximately $1.77tn – which raised Musk’s net worth (which had already hovered at the astronomical $813bn) into the $1tn stratosphere. What does this tell you about capitalism in this era? That it’s no longer based on economic principles as they’re taught in school – prices set by supply and demand. It’s now based on hype, connections and total, arbitrary control. Musk priced SpaceX stock at roughly 100 times the company’s total revenue in 2025. This is ballsy, to say the least, given SpaceX’s consistent negative profitability and its failure to meet prior goals. Granted, it’s difficult to predict the value of activities that don’t yet exist, such as SpaceX’s stated mission to “extend the light of consciousness to the stars”. Interstellar space travel and interplanetary habitation