SpaceX (Nasdaq: SPCX), known for its reusable rockets and the Starlink satellite network, is one of the world's most-watched companies. With Pepperstone, you can take a position on its share price via three symbols: SPCX.US, SPCX.US-24 and SPCX.US-PERP.

All three are contracts for difference (CFDs), meaning you can go long or short on SpaceX's price movements with leverage, without owning the underlying shares. What separates them is when you can trade them, and how the cost of holding a position works. In this guide, we'll explain how each one works, how they compare, which might suit you, and how to get started.

Each symbol gives you exposure to the same thing – SpaceX's listed share price – through a CFD. None of them is the share itself, so you don't own any SpaceX stock. Instead, you're trading where its price goes.

Where they differ is access and cost of carry:

• SPCX.US is the standard share CFD, trading during regular US market hours.
• SPCX.US-24 tracks the same shares, but trades 24 hours a day, five days a week.
• SPCX.US-PERP is the perpetual CFD, open 24/7 – weekends included – with a different funding mechanic.

These differences are easiest to understand when you look at how each symbol trades day to day – so we'll go through them one at a time.

SPCX.US – the standard share CFD: Day to day it behaves like any other share CFD. You open a position, and your profit or loss depends on where SPCX moves from your entry. It trades during regular US market hours, and positions held overnight are subject to a standard overnight swap, in line with other Pepperstone share CFDs.

SPCX.US-24 – the 24-hour share CFD: A CFD on the same shares, just with a longer trading window. SPCX.US-24 trades 24 hours a day, five days a week, so you can act on a move whenever it happens during the week – not only while the US market is open. Funding works the same way as the standard CFD: a standard overnight swap on positions held overnight.

SPCX.US-PERP – the perpetual CFD: SPCX.US-PERP is a perpetual CFD, which brings the mechanics of a perpetual futures market into the familiar Pepperstone CFD framework, referencing the live SPCX price. Three things set it apart:

1. It's always open – trading 24/7, weekends and public holidays included.
2. Funding works differently – instead of the shifting, sometimes 6-8 hourly funding of a native perpetual market, Pepperstone sets a single weekly swap rate in advance and posts it as daily entries at 5pm New York time, so you know your holding cost before the week starts.
3. It's treated like any other CFD – if a position runs into trouble, you get Pepperstone's usual margin call and stop-out, not the tougher tools native perp venues use. There's no auto-deleveraging (where a perp exchange force-closes profitable traders to cover the losses of others liquidated on the opposite side) and no perpetual-style liquidation fees.

One thing to keep in mind: the US market is closed at weekends, so when only the perpetual is trading, its price reflects perpetual-market supply and demand and can drift away from where SPCX last closed. Any gap can show up when the share market reopens.

They share a lot: all give exposure to SpaceX's listed share price, and all can be traded long or short with leverage. None involve owning the stock, and all sit on the same platforms and the same account. Here’s how they stack up:*  

*Spreads are dynamic – see them live on your platform. 

SpaceX CFDs are leveraged products, and that comes with risk. Before you trade, consider the following:

• Prices can move quickly and sharply.
• Leverage magnifies losses as well as gains.
• Holding costs add up over time.
• With SPCX.US-PERP, the price can drift from the share price – particularly at weekends, when the US market is closed.
• You could lose some or all of the money supporting a position. Because there's no expiry, a losing position stays open, and keeps incurring costs, until you close it or your margin runs out.

There's no single right answer – the best symbol is the one that fits how and when you trade. The exposure is identical across all three, so the decision comes down to two things: when you want to be able to trade, and what it costs to hold a position.

Trade during the US session and tend to close out the same day?

SPCX.US could be right for you. It behaves like any share CFD you may have traded before, with a standard overnight swap on anything you hold past the close. If you're rarely holding overnight, that cost stays firmly in the background. Through the US session it trades the same market as the 24-hour symbol, so if you don't need access outside those hours, it's the simpler default.

Get frustrated when news lands after US market close?

SPCX.US-24 may give you the room to act. It tracks the same shares but trades around the clock on weekdays, so you can respond to an earnings update or a Starlink headline as it happens, rather than waiting for the opening bell. Funding works exactly as it does on the standard CFD, so the main thing you're adding is hours on the clock. The trade-off: outside the main US session, liquidity may be thinner and spreads can widen, so those extra hours may not be as cheap to trade as the core session.

Traded perps on a native venue? Want to trade at weekends and hold longer term?

SPCX.US-PERP could work for you. It's open 24/7, and rather than funding that ticks over and shifts through the day, you get a single weekly swap rate set in advance – so you know your holding cost before the week even starts. The trade-off: when the share market is closed, the perpetual's price can drift from where SPCX last traded, and any gap may surface when the market reopens.

Plenty of traders keep all three to hand and pick whichever suits the trade in front of them. The standard CFD for a quick US-session position, the 24-hour symbol when news breaks midweek and the perpetual for a weekend hold. The exposure never changes; what changes is when you can trade and what it costs to stay in.

Getting started is much like trading any other CFD.

• Open and fund an account: Sign up to Pepperstone and complete the account-opening process.
• Choose your symbol: Decide which of the three fits your style – use the comparison above, and check the trading hours, margin requirements and holding costs for each. You'll find them under SPCX.US, SPCX.US-24 and SPCX.US-PERP.
• Decide whether to buy or sell: Go long if you expect the price to rise, or short if you expect it to fall.
• Manage your risk: Use tools such as a stop-loss and size your position to suit your account and risk tolerance – bearing in mind a stop won't always trigger at your exact price if the market gaps or moves fast.
• Monitor your position: Keep an eye on the market, your margin and any holding costs for as long as the trade is open, and close whenever you like.

Do I own SpaceX shares when I trade these symbols?

No. All three are CFDs, which give you exposure to the price only. You're trading where SPCX goes, not buying the stock, so you don't take ownership of any shares.

What's the main difference between the three?

When you can trade, and how holding costs work. SPCX.US trades during regular US market hours. SPCX.US-24 trades 24 hours a day, five days a week. SPCX.US-PERP trades 24/7, including weekends, with a weekly swap rate set in advance.

Can I trade SpaceX at the weekend?

Yes – with SPCX.US-PERP, which is open 24/7. The standard and 24-hour share CFDs follow the US trading week, so they're closed at weekends.

Do any of them expire?

No. All three are CFDs with no expiry date, so you can hold a position for as long as your margin supports it and you keep covering any holding costs.

How is the holding cost worked out on SPCX.US-PERP?

Funding on the underlying perpetual market is calculated continuously and changes through the day. Pepperstone translates that into a single weekly swap rate, set in advance for the week ahead and recalibrated each week. It's posted as daily entries at 5pm New York time, so you know your funding cost before the week starts.