Jim Banks

SpaceX is finally joining the stock market on Friday and the hype machine has been in overdrive. Banks and brokers around the world have been plastering spaceships on their websites. More than $100 billion in orders have come in from retail investors. There are naysayers and critics balking at the valuation and governance risks, but index providers allowing early inclusion (with the exception of S&P) means about 30% of the free float is set to be owned by passive investors, regardless of their opinion.

Whatever your view on the genuinely remarkable success of SpaceX’s reusable rockets and Starlink satellite division (the company’s only profitable unit), the real revolution here seems to be the ability of charismatic leaders with a loyal fanbase — of whom Musk might be the ultimate example — to turn hype into capital. Investors’ fear of missing out is set to trump worries about huge losses, artificial-intelligence expenditure and Musk’s outsized control over the company, described by one Danish fund as “catastrophic governance.”