SpaceX has surpassed Amazon as the fifth-largest company in the world, delivering a major coup for Elon Musk in his battle with rival Jeff Bezos.
The rocket company, which joined the stock market on Friday, now has a market value of nearly $3tn (£2.2tn) after a share price surge on Tuesday – around $300bn higher than that of Amazon
Mr Musk’s company also briefly eclipsed the value of Microsoft – the world’s fourth largest company – earlier in the day before paring gains. SpaceX’s surge is likely to rekindle the rivalry between Mr Musk and Mr Bezos, who is developing his own space exploration and satellite internet ventures through Blue Origin and Amazon Leo. The pair are fierce business rivals and have exchanged jibes over their vast personal fortunes.
Mr Musk joked in 2021 that he would send Mr Bezos a silver medal and a giant statue of the number two after beating him to become the world’s richest person. Mr Musk on Friday became the world’s first trillionaire after floating SpaceX on the Nasdaq stock exchange. He owns a 43pc stake in the business.