SpaceX shares fall 16% as higher bond yields hit tech stocks

In short: SpaceX shares dropped 16.4% on Monday, wiping about $400bn off the company’s market value as US bond yields rose.

What happened

SpaceX shares ended the day at $154.60, down 16.4%. That pushed the stock about 31.5% below its recent high after the company’s Wall Street debut. The shares were listed at $135 in its June 11 initial public offering, which is the first time a company sells shares to the public.

The Financial Times said the roughly $400bn one day drop in SpaceX’s market value was the second-biggest one day loss for any company in Bloomberg data. SpaceX finished the day valued at about $2.03tn, down from an intraday peak of almost $3tn on June 16.

A key reason was rising US government bond yields. Bond yields are the return investors get for holding bonds, and when they rise, safer investments start to look more attractive. That can pull money away from stocks, especially expensive tech stocks that are priced based on big future growth.

Higher rates can also make borrowing more expensive. SpaceX is planning to raise up to $20bn in a bond sale soon, after taking a $20bn bridge loan in March tied to Elon Musk merging xAI and X into SpaceX.

Why it matters

This is a reminder that AI related stocks can swing sharply when interest rate expectations change. For regular people, that can affect retirement accounts and index funds that hold large tech companies. It also shows how quickly investor confidence can shift when a company’s value depends heavily on future AI growth, especially when that AI unit is currently losing money.

Source: Financial Times