Here’s how to buy SpaceX shares.

Real SpaceX shares.

Not a fund that owns SpaceX… or a company that benefits from SpaceX.

Here’s how to buy ticker SPCX before the IPO.

Elon Musk’s rocket company is expected to go public June 12th.

And for once, retail investors have a legitimate shot at buying shares in one of the hottest IPOs before the stock starts trading publicly.

According to SpaceX’s S-1 filing, shares in the IPO will be offered directly through platforms including:

• Robinhood
• Fidelity Investments
• Charles Schwab

That’s a huge shift from the traditional IPO process, where Wall Street firms and their wealthy clients get first access while retail traders are forced to buy after the stock begins trading – often at much higher prices.

Here’s how retail investors can actually participate via each broker mentioned above.

Robinhood

Robinhood has become one of the biggest retail IPO platforms in recent years.

To request SpaceX shares:

• Open the Robinhood app

• Navigate to the IPO Access section via the search bar

• Select SpaceX (SPCX)

• Click the Request Shares button and follow the prompts

• Robinhood will then notify investors whether they received an allocation before trading begins.

The important thing to understand: You can sell the shares you received through IPO access at any point in time.

However, if you sell IPO shares within 30 days of the IPO, it's considered flipping and you may be prevented from participating in IPO access for 60 days.

In addition, requesting shares does not guarantee you’ll receive them.

And given the huge demand for SpaceX, allocations could end up extremely small.

Fidelity

Fidelity also offers IPO access to retail investors.

And for the SpaceX IPO, the requirements are surprisingly accessible.

• Log into your Fidelity brokerage account

• Navigate to the IPO section under “News & Research”

• Locate the SpaceX offering

• Click the Participate button and follow the prompts

Unlike many IPOs, Fidelity is making the SpaceX offering available to any retail brokerage customer with at least $2,000 in their account.

This requirement is typically $500,000.

In addition, if you are allocated shares of SpaceX and you sell within the first 15 calendar days from the start of trading in the secondary market, it will affect your ability to participate in future new issue equity public offerings through Fidelity.

Charles Schwab

The process is similar:

• Log into Schwab

• Navigate to the Trade tab and select IPOs

• Opt-in to the IPO program and complete the required questionnaire.

• Select SpaceX and follow the prompts

Schwab also requires investors to:

• Acknowledge IPO risks

• Meet certain account requirements

• And maintain $100,000 of buying power before requests are approved.

This last requirement makes Schwab the most difficult out of the three brokerages.

No word yet on if they’ll lower the limit like Fidelity did.

However, similar to Robinhood and Fidelity, it’s important to note that selling shares within a specified period after allocation may result in restrictions on your ability to participate in future public offerings through Schwab.

The Bottom Line

Getting IPO shares is not the same as buying a stock already trading on the open market.

First, allocations are not guaranteed.

You could request hundreds of shares and receive only a small fraction of that amount – or none at all.

Second, IPOs are notoriously volatile.

According to research from Truist Wealth, major IPOs over the past 15 years experienced a median drawdown of 54% during their first year as public companies.

In other words, even great companies often make painful investments immediately after going public.

Just ask investors who bought Cerebras (CBRS) two weeks ago at $360 per share on IPO day.

Now the stock trades around $205.

Still, SpaceX is one of the most anticipated IPOs in market history.

And for the first time, everyday investors have a legitimate opportunity to buy shares alongside institutions at the IPO price.

If you’re looking to buy shares, I hope this guide helps.