FAA said to bar employees from buying SpaceX shares

Investing.com -- Federal Aviation Administration workers cannot purchase or own shares in SpaceX following the company's public debut earlier this month, Politico reported Tuesday citing an internal agency document.

The restriction stems from FAA's role in licensing SpaceX's commercial spaceflight operations, including launches and reentries, and requiring the company to conduct investigations into rocket incidents.

SpaceX started trading on the Nasdaq on June 12 at $150 per share. The stock was trading at approximately $170 per share on Tuesday afternoon.

The FAA's ethics office reportedly received numerous inquiries about whether employees could buy shares in the company. The agency's supplemental ethics standards classify SpaceX as a prohibited investment, the report said.

The ban extends to employees' spouses and minor children.

A federal regulation enforces the FAA mandate, generally preventing agency staff from owning stock in airline companies, aircraft manufacturers, or their parts suppliers, with some exceptions.

The FAA updated its prohibited investments list this month to include SpaceX and three other commercial space firms: Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, and Virgin Galactic. Blue Origin remains privately held.

The list also features major aircraft manufacturers like Boeing and the country's primary airlines. The FAA stated the list is not comprehensive.

The agency reportedly sent an ethics alert to staff on Monday referencing the SpaceX stock restriction and advising workers to review the revised list. The alert did not address any exemptions for political appointees.

Related articles

FAA said to bar employees from buying SpaceX shares

Citi pushes back Fed rate cuts to May after blowout January jobs report

Nvidia's new Alpamayo project: What it means for Tesla?

View Comments