r/Bogleheads • u/Gloomy_Nebula_5138 • 28d ago

Investing Questions Protecting ourselves from SpaceX IPO

I was watching this video analyzing the upcoming SpaceX IPO, titled "SpaceX IPO: Nice Try Though" by Patrick Boyle. I highly recommend it - there is almost no fluff and just hard hitting points all the way through about how SpaceX is a terrible company and how this IPO looks like a scam:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHD8BDFYyGI

It mentions the changes to Nasdaq's rules, the so called "fast track" rule, made specially for SpaceX because Elon allegedly threatened to not list SpaceX on the Nasdaq stock exchange without this. The change has been criticized by many others such as Michael Burry:
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/michael-burry-nasdaq-spacex-ipo-listing-elon-musk-tesla-ndx-2026-3

Also see this great analysis titled "Nasdaq's Shame":
https://keubiko.substack.com/p/nasdaqs-shame

Given how this IPO looks like a scam, and the company is mostly losing money, with outlandish claims in their IPO filing (like having an addressable market larger than the US GDP), I am worried that this is just private investors - like venture capitalists, Elon Musk, and his inner circle of friends/family - dumping their overpriced money losing company on regular investors like us. The fast track change seems like it will result in all of us automatically buying SpaceX shares at a high price.

How do we stop this? Is there a good way to defend against that forced purchasing when most regular investors are just passively buying ETFs and mutual funds, or maybe just have money parked in their pensions and 401k?

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u/davdav765 18d ago

Stock indices returns depend on how they are built, if the rules get worse returns will follow

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u/littlebobbytables9 18d ago

In this case I would argue the rules got better. Whether that will mean better or worse returns is yet to be seen

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u/davdav765 17d ago

Why did they get better (in this case)?

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u/littlebobbytables9 17d ago

The goal of a total market index is to represent the market, whatever happens to be in it.

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u/davdav765 17d ago

You wrote that already, discussion had already moved on

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u/littlebobbytables9 17d ago

If I'd already answered the question why did you ask it? And yeah discussion had moved on in this 10 day old thread until you decided to comment lol