Musk’s first SpaceX employee calls historic $1.77 trillion IPO ‘life-changing’

SpaceX’s first employee, Tom Mueller, said the company’s record-breaking IPO will be a “life-changing” moment for employees during an exclusive interview with “The Claman Countdown” on Thursday.

SpaceX will begin trading on the NASDAQ on Friday in the largest IPO in history. The IPO is expected to be priced at $135 per share and aims to raise $75 billion, valuing the company at $1.77 billion.

“Elon always said ‘Your salary is one thing, but equity is worth something.’ And we’re all like, ‘Yeah, okay another day,'” Mueller said. “That day has come. Good.”

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SpaceX will trade under the ticker symbol SPCX, and its employees could become millionaires based on their access to stock prices.

The IPO will create more than 4,000 new millionaires among current and former employees of the 24-year-old aerospace giant, according to figures.

“We’re having a little party tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. We’re going to ring our bell and celebrate with a bunch of SpaceX employees,” Mueller told FOX Business.

SpaceX founder, Elon Musk, may become the world’s first billionaire following a historic market launch.

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BROWNSVILLE, TX-MAY 27: Elon Musk is pictured at SpaceX in Brownsville, Texas (Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images) (Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post via Getty Images / Getty Images)

His estimated net worth would rise by 26%, from about $793 billion to $1 trillion, based on the market value of his holdings, including SpaceX and Tesla.

Mueller, who was hired as SpaceX’s first employee in 2002, led projects including the Merlin Engine that powers the Falcon 9, the Raptor Engine that powers Starship and other key propulsion systems.

He said joining SpaceX from a major official space company was “refreshing” and gave him more freedom to innovate, describing Musk’s company culture as empowering.

“I had just come to TRW, a large aerospace company, and I was coming from the bureaucracy and being able to move quickly and really be empowered and do the kind of product development that we wanted to do … It was really refreshing and fun, actually, even though it was difficult. It was actually really satisfying,” Mueller said.

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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket prepares to lift off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (SpaceX)

Mueller described how a pivotal moment in 2008 helped pull the company, which is expected to generate $18.7 billion in revenue by 2025, back from the brink of bankruptcy.

“Actually 2008 was the year we finally did orbit, the fourth Falcon 1 flight did orbit that year, and that’s when we ran out of money and that flight saved us,” he told “Claman Countdown.”

“Then we got it right and we started flying the Falcon 9, the rocket that’s flying right now. And it was the most reliable rocket in history. So, it really came together. And now look where we are now. We’re a billion dollar company.”

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) the day after the Dow fell nearly 1,000 points as the conflict in Iran continues June 11, 2026 in New York City. Markets were up more than 200 points in morning trade. (Photos by Spencer Platt/Getty/Getty Images)

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Major investors and companies are eagerly awaiting the start of the SpaceX market, and BlackRock has placed an order for at least five billion shares, according to the Wall Street Journal.

IPO investors can make trades as soon as SpaceX stock goes live on Friday.