Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) didn’t just launch an options market on Tuesday—it rewrote the record books. Roughly 1.8 million SpaceX options contracts changed hands during their first trading session, according to Trade Alert data cited by Reuters.
That easily surpassed the previous first-day record of approximately 365,000 contracts set by Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), then known as Facebook, when its options began trading in 2012.
The milestone adds another chapter to what has already become one of the most closely watched public market debuts in years.
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” Henry Schwartz, vice president of derivatives market intelligence at Cboe Global Markets, told Reuters.
Investors Can’t Get Enough Of SpaceX
The record-setting activity highlights the extraordinary appetite for exposure to SpaceX following the company’s blockbuster IPO. Roughly $2.8 billion worth of SpaceX options premium traded on Tuesday alone. Bullish call options outpaced bearish puts by about 1.3-to-1, suggesting traders remain focused on upside opportunities despite the stock’s rapid gains since its listing.
“Investors continue to chase upside in high-beta AI and space-linked winners,” Chris Murphy, co-head of derivatives strategy at Susquehanna, told Reuters.
By the end of the session, only Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) generated more options activity than SpaceX, underscoring how quickly the newly public stock has become a favorite among derivatives traders.
Following Tesla’s Playbook?
The strong debut is fueling expectations that SpaceX could quickly become one of the market’s dominant options names.
Rocky Fishman, founder of Asym 500, said SpaceX appears positioned to develop one of the deepest single-stock derivatives ecosystems on Wall Street, citing strong equity trading volume, significant investor interest, and overlap with Tesla’s options-heavy investor base.
The options activity could also amplify future moves in the underlying stock. Heavy call buying often forces market makers to purchase shares as a hedge, which can accelerate rallies during periods of strong demand.
That possibility has already become a popular topic among traders. Earlier this week, Benzinga reported that analysts at SpotGamma described SpaceX as “one of the highest-gamma-sensitivity environments of the decade” because of the combination of heavy investor demand and a relatively limited public float.
The Bigger Picture
The record-setting debut suggests demand for SpaceX exposure extends far beyond the stock itself. Just days after its IPO, SPCX is already beginning to resemble Tesla—a company whose options market became nearly as closely watched as its underlying shares.
For now, the headline number stands out: 1.8 million contracts on day one.
Meta’s record lasted 14 years. SpaceX broke it by a wide margin.
Photo Courtesy: JRdes on Shutterstock.com
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