P1- Trade Alert — My First SpaceX (SPCX) Options Trade
SpaceX is public, the options are live, and I couldn't resist —
Date: June 16, 2026
SpaceX is public, the options are live, and I couldn’t resist — this is my first-ever options trade on SPCX. And the implied volatility on this thing is absolutely crazy
— a brand-new, story-stock IPO with no established trading range, so the option premium is enormous. I put that rich premium to work: I sold a long-dated put and got paid today for being willing to own one of the most talked-about companies on earth at a deep discount.
Regime Read
Catalyst: The SpaceX IPO — the event we’d been watching all month — is done, the stock is trading, and the options market just opened on it. Brand-new listings carry rich implied volatility because no one knows the range yet. Rich IV is a premium-seller’s friend.
Volatility: Sky-high in this name specifically (a fresh, story-driven IPO), even as the broad market’s VIX sits in the teens. That fat premium is the whole reason this trade pays what it does.
Momentum: The market absorbed the IPO and pushed higher — risk appetite is on. Selling a put fits a constructive-to-bullish lean.
Decision Framework
Why sell a put (vs. buy shares): I’m willing to own SpaceX — but not at any price, and not chasing a hot IPO pop. Selling the put pays me $1,140 today to wait. If SPCX never falls to 65, I keep the credit. If it does, I buy a company I want to own at a steep discount, with my cost basis cut by the premium.
Why the 65 strike — and the real number that matters: 65 is well below where the stock is trading, a level I’d happily own it at. But the credit makes the true commitment even better: 65 − $11.40 = an effective buy price of $53.60. The crazy IV literally let me agree to buy SpaceX below $55. That’s the magic of selling fat premium — your real cost basis is far under the strike.
Why a 2.5-year LEAP (Dec 2028): Long-dated puts on a high-IV name carry huge absolute premium. I’m renting out time and volatility on the most hyped stock of the year. With 913 days, there’s enormous room for it to hit my 50%-profit target early (P50 > 99.5%) — at which point I can simply buy it back and bank the win.
Why now: IPO IV is fattest right at the open, before the market figures out the real trading range. That’s when the premium is richest — exactly when a seller wants to be selling.
The risk, stated plainly: Max loss is ~$5,360 if SPCX goes to zero — real money, and new IPOs are volatile and unproven. This is a single-name, speculative premium sale. I sized it small and treated the buying power as money I’m fully prepared to put at risk. Do not treat a brand-new IPO short put as a “safe” income trade.
The Takeaway
This is the premium-selling playbook applied to the most exciting new listing on the board: instead of buying the hype, I sold the volatility — getting paid now, with a defined plan to own a company I like at a price I like. A fun first SpaceX trade, and a clean illustration of why we’d rather be paid to wait than chase.
Educational trade alert — not investment advice, a recommendation, or a solicitation. This is a position in our own account. Options involve substantial risk and are not suitable for all investors; selling puts on a newly-public, high-volatility stock carries significant single-name risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
— Tony Battista & Tony Rihan Grow Your Pile