'Elon Musk is a modern PT Barnum': The best online trader reactions to a wild SpaceX market debut

Samuel O'BrientSat, June 13, 2026 at 9:35 AM UTC

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TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images -

Retail traders were watching the fireworks as SpaceX began trading on Friday.

Despite catering to the retail crowd ahead of the IPO, not all day traders seemed wooed by the mega-deal.

The cohort seems divided on the company, the valuation, and the trajectory of the stock.

SpaceX made its historic debut on the Nasdaq on Friday, popping 30% in early trading and vaulting the company above a $2.2 trillion market cap.

Ahead of the offering, SpaceX made a point to court retail traders, setting aside more shares than usual at the IPO price in a bid to get regular folks excited about getting in early on a stock with the potential to soar.

Recent data shows that retail traders have been selling many of their favorite stocks across AI and chips sectors, building a cash pile ahead of SpaceX and other expected mega-offerings this year. But, not every retail trader is rushing to start buying.

Here's some of the highlights from retail traders Business Insider connected with around the internet.

Noor Al, WallStreetBets moderator

Al, known on r/WallStreetBets as u/opinionisunpopular, has been helping moderate the popular trading forum since before the Gamestop short squeeze of 2021.

He was upbeat when reached by Business Insider, saying that he had a good feeling about the stock as trading got underway on Friday.

"I've never seen an IPO generate this much discussion and excitement... and hate," he said. "Despite all odds, I have a feeling this is going to be great trade for those successful in getting IPO allocation because there is every incentive for this to go well. We are truly in unprecedented times."

"Elon Musk is a modern PT Barnum"

Elon Musk's has become a more divisive figure in retail circles in the past few years. While he still has his superfans, others aren't sure about his lofty promises, like human robots or data centers in space.

A user posting on Reddit, who revealed his name to be Aaron, compared Musk to PT Barnun, often remembered as a talented showman as well as a politician and a perpetrator of various hoaxes.

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"Elon Musk is a modern day PT Barnum. He has actually put maybe 4 viable products on the table (a few cars and a rocket that can get to orbit and land, and a C-tier AI that nobody wants)."

"I see no downside in investing in a monopoly"

There were bulls on the forums though, as well.

Some said that they are "all in" on the SpaceX IPO, adding that they're trading "purely off vibes," and that they simply like rockets.

"I see no downside in investing in a monopoly which SpaceX currently has on rockets," retail trader Casey Dyer, who goes by u/BIGpoppaPUMP42069 on Reddit told Business Insider. "The untapped market of data centers in space, they aint going away anytime soon and I would much rather see them orbiting earth than sucking up resources here on earth."

Bailing out the original investors

Reddit user u/Dangerous-Quality-79 raised the concern that investors who already had SpaceX equity through investments in X or xAI will take the opportunity to offload it, ultimately compromising the IPO momentum.

"The retail play is to hope that the Elon stans have enough dry powder to bail out the original investors and give retail a nice profit while smiling knowing they will make a fortune once data centers in space are operational (sometime after Tesla releases the roadster)," the user shared in a comment on r/SpaceXBets.

"Here to see if this is the Hindenburg we think it'll be"

Some of the most bearish voices said they were following along simply to watch if the stock cratered.

"Honestly, many of us wouldn't touch this with a ten foot pole but we're here to see if this is the Hindenburg we think it'll be," a user who goes posts under u/msnrcn, said.

Another user, u/datrnerd, responded to their comment, adding: "Not touching the stock. Discouraged family and friends from considering it for portfolios."

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