The "forced buyers" framing is exactly right, and a "the fix is in" analogy practically writes itself. Nasdaq didn't just bend its rules, it revealed what those rules actually were: Negotiable, for the right client. The seasoning period existed to protect passive investors from being force-fed freshly-priced shares before markets had time to discover a fair value. Waiving it doesn't just benefit SpaceX, it sets a precedent that OpenAI, Anthropic and every future mega-IPO will now expect as standard.
The circularity is the real scandal. SpaceX's $1.75 trillion valuation is partly justified by the near-certainty that tens of billions in passive money will flow in mechanically on listing day. The valuation inflates the index weight, the index weight triggers the forced buying, the forced buying supports the valuation. Retail index investors consented to none of it.
Some may call it "dumb money." The more precise term might be "captive money". Nasdaq didn't sell SpaceX to the public. It sold the public to SpaceX.
SpaceX is also perfectly positioned to be the ultimate FOMO stock. That is, even the skeptics can end up thinking “what if Elon is right?” and buying the thing anyway as a hedge. Not that I will be chasing this action, I’ll wait for the (possible) crash rather than burning my discretionary income on a fairly long range gamble, thank you very much.
The "forced buyers" framing is exactly right, and a "the fix is in" analogy practically writes itself. Nasdaq didn't just bend its rules, it revealed what those rules actually were: Negotiable, for the right client. The seasoning period existed to protect passive investors from being force-fed freshly-priced shares before markets had time to discover a fair value. Waiving it doesn't just benefit SpaceX, it sets a precedent that OpenAI, Anthropic and every future mega-IPO will now expect as standard.
The circularity is the real scandal. SpaceX's $1.75 trillion valuation is partly justified by the near-certainty that tens of billions in passive money will flow in mechanically on listing day. The valuation inflates the index weight, the index weight triggers the forced buying, the forced buying supports the valuation. Retail index investors consented to none of it.
Some may call it "dumb money." The more precise term might be "captive money". Nasdaq didn't sell SpaceX to the public. It sold the public to SpaceX.
Wow. This is informative. I didn't understand the topic at hand thoroughly enough, so I appreciate the detailed explanation.
..."A religious cult with Musk as it's annointed Pontif."
https://substack.com/@danielsethroberts/note/p-198996818?r=8cnl84
The griftmaster himself!!!
SpaceX is also perfectly positioned to be the ultimate FOMO stock. That is, even the skeptics can end up thinking “what if Elon is right?” and buying the thing anyway as a hedge. Not that I will be chasing this action, I’ll wait for the (possible) crash rather than burning my discretionary income on a fairly long range gamble, thank you very much.