Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Posted on 06/13/2026 9:48:54 AM PDT by TheDon
Before Juan Hernandez became a welder at SpaceX, he had never heard of the company.
"It was just another contract job for me at the time," he told CBS News correspondent Jo Ling Kent in a broadcast exclusive interview.
Now, just over 10 years later, that leap of faith is paying off following the company's $75 billion initial public offering. Hernandez, who now works at Jeff Bezos-owned rocket startup Blue Origin, has roughly 6,500 SpaceX shares. On Friday, SpaceX stock closed at $160.95, valuing his holdings at $1,046,175.
SpaceX shares started trading on the Nasdaq late Friday morning under the ticker symbol SPCX, marking the long-awaited Wall Street debut of the rocket and satellite company. The stock offering also turned SpaceX founder Elon Musk into the world's first trillionaire.
Hernandez first heard about SpaceX from a friend who was hired as a welder there. He knew Hernandez's background and figured he'd be a good fit for the job.
"I thought in my head, I don't know what SpaceX is, but let's go," Hernandez said.
When SpaceX hired Hernandez in 2015, he said they offered him $10,000 worth of stock. At the time, he didn't think much of it. His other jobs, which paid him hourly, had never offered him stock before.
"It wasn't a big deal. I didn't know anything about it then," he told CBS News. "I didn't know it was gonna be this big, at this point."
Rising through the ranks During his 10-year run at SpaceX, Hernandez worked as a welder, preparing rockets for takeoff by building the structures that lifted them onto the launch pad and the infrastructure that held them in place. He eventually rose through the ranks to become a supervisor.
He said offering employees a stake in the company helps them feel they have skin in the game and pushes them to succeed.
"They will perform a lot better because, I mean, it is, it's their company as well," he said.
...
If given the chance to talk to Musk, Hernandez said he'd thank him for helping him realize a dream he didn't know he had.
"He made it a possibility for somebody like us, you know, the cook or … electrician," he said. "He's making all these lives much better and meaningful for their families as well."
|
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
Drives.
Leftists.
Crazy.
In one day, he created the first trillionaire, several billionaires, and a bunch of millionaires.
Everyday people.
Drives them absolutely insane. I love it.
IPOs are never pumped-and-dumped.
Good for him!!
Gavin Newscum thinks Mr. Hernandez stole that money from the working man.
25 years ago, I worked at a friend’s business, selling professional video and production gear. He sponsored a Mexican fellow who becamse a citizen through proper means. He was a good guy, fast learner, excellent worker, he helped sell lots of gear to Hispanic folks, of which there were plenty since we were in Los Angeles.
And then maybe 15 years ago, he went to work for an associate/friend of the guy I worked for, in Chicago. Same business, except the guy in Chicago operated a couple of OB (outside broadcast) vans which covered baseball games and various sporting events. It’s a ton of work, setting up a dozen cameras and running cables all over the place.
Last I heard from him, he owns half a dozen buildings in Chicago, Winnetka, typically 4-plexes, that he was renting out for astronomical money.
Funny thing, leftists have been saying the workers should own the means of production for a century. Elon does this through stock options. The workers love him for it. The stock moons on IPO and makes several workers millionaires, and the leftards hate him (Musk) for it because he made money as well.
Must be they just hate immigrants and African Americans.
—”IPOs are never pumped-and-dumped.”
Never say never.
But you never know.
“The Motley Fool acknowledges the explosive market debut of SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) but urges investors to proceed with extreme caution. While celebrating its record-breaking IPO, analysts highlight significant concerns regarding its financial health and unsustainable valuation.”
“Staggered Expirations: Instead of waiting six months, insiders and early investors are permitted to begin cashing out 20% of their stock on the second day of trading following the release of the Q2 earnings report.”
The people like Musk and the welder, Juan Hernandez, are what make America great.
Quite true. lol!
Take that Jimmy Kimmel!
Ironically, so does Starbucks...and the reward the employees gave them was to go on strike.
Leftists are never happy.
It’ll be dumped, but its a good long term hold.
“Just this one little trick drives Leftists CRAZY!”
I bought onto a mutual fund that held some SpaceX (pre IPO) stock a couple of months ago. It made money, but I wished I’d bought into it three months before that. I wanted SpaceX then, but I didn’t know there were funds that held it.
The fund Baron Partners also holds Tesla stock, which dragged it down a little.
I bought onto a mutual fund that held some SpaceX (pre IPO) stock a couple of months ago. It made money, but I wished I’d bought into it three months before that. I wanted SpaceX then, but I didn’t know there were funds that held it.
The fund Baron Partners also holds Tesla stock, which dragged it down a little. Still happy to make what I made.
SpaceX stock going up up up 📈 📈 📈 To the moon Alice
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.