Updated Fri, Jun 12 2026 4:33 PM EDT Tesla , another Musk-led company, swung between gains and losses in Friday's session. The electric vehicle maker — which is a top stock among retail investors — is worth less than SpaceX by market cap. Retail traders raced to get in on SpaceX's IPO given their broad support for Musk following Tesla's success. Yet SpaceX allocated a smaller-than-expected portion of its IPO to the retail class, a source told CNBC. Still, SpaceX was the most-bought stock by retail traders on net in Friday's trading, data from VandaTrack shows. It was also among the most-discussed stocks in Reddit 's popular WallStreetBets forum in the days leading up to the IPO, according to meme stock tracker Breakout Point. "Market sentiment is reflecting a book that looks like it was pretty robust," said Dan Alpert, founding managing partner of Westwood Capital. "The folks who only got a portion of the shares they asked for are now looking for a stable market in which to buy." Multiple big investors have quietly built out stakes in SpaceX as a private company for nearly two decades. But some market participants have raised red flags about investing in SpaceX into the IPO, citing concerns over valuation and potential growth obstacles for the Starlink business. SpaceX's debut is expected to kick off a wave of high-profile IPOs. Anthropic and OpenAI both confidentially filed prospectuses with regulators in recent weeks. SpaceX Operations Chief Gwynne Shotwell told CNBC in an exclusive interview that she "wasn't sure we would go public." But she said the current moment "actually feels like the right time." — CNBC's John Melloy and Tobias Burns contributed to this report. watch now