‘I gave SpaceX less than a 10% chance of succeeding’: Elon Musk addresses Nasdaq ahead of SpaceX IPO

Today could mark one of the biggest days in stock market history—or set the stage for one of its greatest flops. Space X, the most hotly anticipated stock market debut ever, is set to be offered to the public any minute now as investors eagerly await its debut on both the Nasdaq Global Select Market and Nasdaq Texas under the ticker SPCX, capping a 24-year run as the most valuable, and most scrutinized, private company in the world. Ahead of the debut, the rocket, satellite and AI company’s CEO Elon Musk addressed Nasdaq in Texas, reiterating the company’s extraterrestrial goals. “SpaceX wants to be able to take you to the moon,” Musk said. “I am confident at this point that with the incredible team that we have here at SpaceX, that we will do that for you.” He told the crowd of SpaceX employees at Nasdaq’s Starbase, Texas location that at first, he didn’t have high hopes for the company that today, could potentially make him the world’s first trillionaire. “I gave SpaceX less than a 10% chance of succeeding at all.” Still, he said, after more than two decades of prototypes, failed launches and eventual success that has culminated in the Falcon 9 Block 5—the world’s most reliable rocket—Musk said that his initial out-of-this-world fascination still remains at the company. “That’s what SpaceX is all about, is take science fiction and create an exciting, inspiring future for everyone,” Musk said. “We want to be able to take anyone who wants to go to the moon, anyone who wants to go to Mars… not just a few astronauts, I mean, you, literally you.” “There are always problems on Earth,” he concluded, moments before Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’ started playing. “But there also have to be things that get you excited about the future, that make you glad to wake up in the morning, because you can’t wait to see what happens next.” Th