The Federal Aviation Administration's ethics office has prohibited its employees, their spouses, and minor children from purchasing shares in SpaceX, citing it as a prohibited investment under agency ethics standards. The restriction applies to companies involved in airline or aircraft manufacturing.
The FAA's decision highlights the potential for conflicts of interest when employees hold investments in companies regulated by their agency, particularly in rapidly growing sectors like commercial spaceflight.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has informed its employees that they are prohibited from purchasing stock in SpaceX. According to the agency's ethics office, SpaceX is considered a prohibited investment under supplemental ethics standards, a restriction that also applies to the workers' spouses and minor children.
The FAA periodically updates its list of prohibited investments and reminds employees to review it. The initial public offering for SpaceX attracted significant attention from retail investors. The stock was trading around $170 per share on Tuesday afternoon, up from its $150 debut price.
This mandate is enforced under a federal regulation that, with some exceptions, bars agency employees from holding stock in airline or aircraft manufacturing companies, or their parts suppliers. The FAA's list of prohibited investments, revised this month, includes SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, and Virgin Galactic. Other firms on the list, which is not exhaustive, range from Boeing to the nation's major airlines.
An internal email to employees on Monday highlighted the SpaceX stock restriction and encouraged workers to review the updated list. The alert did not mention any exceptions for political appointees. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford had previously faced scrutiny for not divesting his shares in Republic Airways Holdings within an agreed timeframe.
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