Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire last week after SpaceX debuted on the stock market with a valuation of $1.77tn.
Millions of Americans could soon become indirect investors in SpaceX and other emerging AI-focused companies as US markets increasingly shift toward AI-driven investments.
Many Americans’ retirement savings are heavily tied to the US stock market through private 401(k) retirement savings plans. Those plans are heavily invested in index funds that track the major stock market indices. So even those who do not invest directly in these new tech giants may still end up owning them.
Musk pushed for a rule change to allow SpaceX shares into index funds earlier than is typical, many Americans could find their retirement savings and pensions increasingly tied to the company and other AI firms.
“We’ve all been forced into a giant casino,” said Tim, a 62-year-old engineer based in Alameda, California.
The Guardian asked people in the US their views on the SpaceX initial public offering (IPO) and how it might affect them. More than 150 responded, overwhelmingly to express concern about having their savings tied to major technology firms, citing fears over widening inequality, market instability, and the long-term sustainability of the AI boom.
For Tim, a 62-year-old engineer based in Alameda, California, investing in SpaceX is less a choice than a necessity.
“I’ve never wanted to participate in the so-called AI bubble,” Tim continued. “Basically my entire retirement is in the S&P 500. Not out of choice, but if you don’t have investments in the stock market, you’re losing ground compared to everybody who does. That’s the pernicious thing about it. There’s really no way for the average person to diversify.”
Stephen, a 33-year-old engineer from Michigan, shares his unease and describes his disgust over the growing influence of tech companies over retirement savings.
“I think that the amount is absolutely ridiculous and untethered to the company’s actual value,” he said. “I think it’s abhorrent that my savings and retirement funds are tied so intricately to these tech companies, especially when they cannot be held accountable by investors.”
Similar concerns were raised by Matt Reynolds, a 57-year-old professor based in eastern Washington, who worries both about his financial future and the influence of tech moguls.
“As someone looking to retire in the next five to 10 years, I’m alarmed at big tech’s market consolidation and its impact on my savings and investments. As a human being, I’m distraught that these companies all seem to be run by people with little accountability or moral compass,” he said. “How and why do my finances have to be bound to a racist, narcissistic, baby man who does not seem to care about other human beings? Everything about this is wrong.”
For Kendra Ford, a 54-year-old mother and climate activist based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the issue is both financial and moral.
“It is heartbreaking and enraging that Elon Musk can use the system to enrich himself while most people are not being paid fairly and so can’t afford food and healthcare. It’s a profound moral failing of our economic system and our society. I do think this brings us closer to profound social upheaval when the folks who are being exploited and hurt the most are going to refuse to participate,” she said.
Mia, a 58-year-old writer based in Washington DC, has taken a different approach, choosing not to invest in the stock market at all rather than prop up Musk’s plans for planetary colonization.
“I have intentionally not invested in the stock market, it’s a money game for rich people and I think it’s crazy that American taxpayers have allowed their life savings to be gambled in 401(k) accounts,” she said.
“It would be much easier to take that much money and clean up our planet than try to get to Mars and make that planet habitable for humanity. It’s a ridiculous scam,” Mia added.
Pedro, a retired businessman based in Denver, Colorado, has divested from index funds altogether.
“If we all were to do that, it would drive those stocks back to reality and send a message to the heads of those corporations who think they rule the world,” he said.
Jeffrey Munsie, a 57-year-old architect in Middletown, Connecticut, is trying to protect his savings by spreading his assets around.
“This IPO is far too large for any one entity or person to control or benefit from. That is an understatement. I am not fond of my savings and financial future being tied to the success of such large and narrowly focused companies, so I intend to now keep my investments well-diversified more actively,” he said.
But not everyone sees SpaceX’s eye-popping valuation so negatively. Some admire the company’s technological advances while still expressing concern about the concentration of wealth and power.
“I have mixed feelings about the SpaceX IPO. It is hard not to admire what the company has achieved. SpaceX has transformed the space industry, and the same can be said for some of the advances we are seeing in artificial intelligence,” said Dimitris Eleas, a 52-year-old political scientist based in Brooklyn, New York. “At the same time, I am very uneasy about the growing concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a small number of technology companies and their greedy founders.”
Steven, the engineer from Michigan, agrees.
“There is a palpable sense of unfairness and anger that our lives are inextricably tied to the choices of the few,” he said. “CEOs receive lavish sums of money even when they fail while our retirement funds and employment are married to the companies they run.”